


Scoring Chances

by oldmarriedcouple



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Combined their brains are the size of a walnut, DUDES BEIN BROS, Face-Fucking, First Time, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, Idiots in Love, JUST GUYS BEIN DUDES, M/M, Slow Burn, eventual Nolan and TK, idiots to lovers, oblivious boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2019-11-07 05:42:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 63,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oldmarriedcouple/pseuds/oldmarriedcouple
Summary: Now that he thinks about it, Nolan never did learn how G scored the game winner.





	1. How'd he score?

**Author's Note:**

> We got another multi chapter fic, friends! This one is set right after the Stadium Series. I saw the mic'd up Nolan video and saw him and G having their tender little hug moment and thought "huh that could be somethin" so here it is! But my heart belongs to the two fools that are Nolan and Travis, so they end up together.  
> I made Nolan a lil bit of a hoe but oh well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boys go out on the town after the win. Travis is oblivious, Nolan is obvious, and Claude Giroux may be the only guy there who knows what the fuck is going on.

Nolan Patrick was good at hockey. He knew that. He thanked god every day, because other than being knowledgeable about hockey, Nolan Patrick was not knowledgeable about anything else. So he fit the stereotype, so what? He knew he wasn’t the dumbest guy on their team, he had Travis for that. But as he saw it the two of them were definitely on the stupider end of the spectrum when it came to matters outside of hockey. G was good at  _ everything _ . Nolan loved him for it. How many players could say their captain was good at  _ everything _ ? Probably a lot, since Nolan knows hockey players on the subject of their captains are heavily biased, but so what? Nolan knew his was the  _ best _ .

When they were on a line together with Travis, Nolan felt like G was everywhere. It was raining, they were losing, by all accounts it should have been a terrible time, but with G barking out orders everything seemed like it would be okay.

Everything turned out  _ more _ than okay. Jake tied it up at the last minute, true to team fashion, and sent them into OT.  Nolan was on the 3-man unit with G and Sanny.

_ Don’t fuck up man _ he thought to himself, taking the puck back into his zone so they could regroup, before charging forwards and passing it to G.

Nolan was  _ so mad  _ he didn’t watch the rest, instead skating over to the bench. He turned around after everyone had erupted in cheers.

_ G scored the OT Game Winning Goal. Nolan had assisted G’s OT Game Winning Goal. How’d he do it? How’d he score? _ Nolan asked everyone he saw how he did it.

“Did you see it? How’d he score? How’d he do it?” Nolan would ask, and everyone, even those who  _ had _ seen it, still seemed baffled.

“I don’t know...he shot it, and then the puck was in the net.”

_ Oh FUCK yeah _ Nolan thought, zipping around celebrating with his teammates. He was looking for Travis, surely Travis would have seen it and told him, but he couldn’t make him out in the throng of his teammates surrounding their captain. Nolan skated over to G immediately, and G wrapped him up in a hug. Nolan shoved his face down into his neck, gripping  _ his captain _ tightly. Giroux was a little smug, if he was being honest. Nolan Patrick didn’t emote a whole lot, and usually Travis was the only guy who got him to do it. So G’s hand ended up wandering slightly, but Nolan was still too amped to pay it any attention.

G’s calm praise of “atta boy, yeah?” did get him a little bit, but Nolan was incapable of doing anything that wasn’t either asking how Giroux had managed to score, or just plain screaming.

He settled for shouting, and then G let him go to finish celebrating with the rest of his boys.

Nolan finally found Travis, thank god, and asked him about the goal while the two of them skated around the ice.

“Christ Patty, only you would miss the fucking game winner you passed to him, eh?” Travis teased. Nolan told him to fuck off and the two pushed and shoved each other around before making their way back down the tunnel into the locker room. When G was passed the helmet, he said he had played like shit and that he couldn’t accept it. Nolan knew that he should be following the helmet as it made its way around the room, but he couldn’t stop staring at his captain.

_ He thinks he played like shit? No fucking way _ .

G caught him looking and sent him a wink, which had Nolan quickly avert his gaze to his feet, hoping his dumb cheeks were still red from the game so he wouldn’t be given away.

They all went out after, despite the cold rain they found themselves in a bar whooping and hollering. Nolan found the  _ one thing _ Claude Giroux might not have been so good at.

“When the work’s all done and the sun’s settin’ low I pull out my fiddle and I rosin’ up the bow the kids are asleep so I keep it kinda low and thank god I’m a country boy” is exactly what was written up on the karaoke screen. But Nolan Patrick, for the life of him, could not understand a single word that his captain was singing. He was sure that all of them being wasted didn’t help, but  _ my god _ it was terrible. He couldn’t help but laugh, slotted into a booth next to Travis, as the two of them finished their drinks and chirped G as he descended from the stage.

“Oye G Baby stick to your day job eh?” Travis chirped. G flipped him off and headed to the bar to get another drink. Nolan decided at that moment that it was very important that G not buy his own drinks, since he won the game for them. So Nolan got up and dragged Travis with him to the bar.

“Dude why are you holding my hand?”   
“Shut up Travis it’s chill”

They got to the bar right as G was ordering his next beer

“Excuse me! Mister Bartender sir you can’t let him pay for that it’s not allowed” Nolan blabbered out. G looked up at Nolan, eyeing him up before seeing his and Travis’ joined hands. He raised his eyebrow at the boy, who decided it was in his best interest to turn back to the bartender, who looked entirely unamused.

“Look kid, I don’t care who pays for it, as long as it gets paid for. You got an ID?” Nolan flushed, G started full belly laughing, clutching his sides. Of course this is the one time ever someone wants to see his ID. Nolan shifted behind Travis and pinned him to the bar.

“He’ll pay for it!” Travis sputtered and tried to turn around to face Nolan

“Dude what the fuck?”

“Come on Teeks we can’t let G buy his own beer after that goal, and the stupid bartender won’t let me buy it. I’ll pay you back later, promise!” Travis grumbled, but ordered another round for the three of them and slapped some cash on the counter. Nolan let him go, and he wandered off, seeking friends who wouldn’t make him pay for their drinks. Nolan grabbed the two beers that were left and handed one to his captain, who chuckled out a quick thanks and a smirk. Nolan gracelessly dropped himself in next to Giroux, leaning into him a little bit

“Figures the one time I get carded I’m not even trying to buy my own beer” his captain laughed at that. Not as loudly as the first time, but still, he gave a chuckle and clapped Nolan on the shoulder

“Don’t worry kid, I appreciate the sentiment.” G’s hand stayed in place, and Nolan made no move to get rid of it. Searching for something to fill the silence, he blurted out

“I can’t believe I finally know something you’re bad at” and tilted his head to the stage where the captain had given all of them an experience. When his head had swung back, he rested it against G’s, drunk on booze and victory and the raw admiration of the man that was next to him, his captain. Claude chuckled at that too, shifting under the gradual increase in weight as Nolan draped himself over him.

“For real though G, I can’t believe you thought you played like shit today you were so hot all over the ice and guiding us through it holy shit man, you’re a legend.” Nolan was sure that at this point he wasn’t making much sense, but he found it to be very important that he let his captain know that he did not, in fact, play like shit.

“I mean christ you won the game for us G, what the fuck else could you have done? God that was incredible. You’re incredible. Fuck Crosby  _ you’re _ the best.”

“You weren’t too bad yourself kid.” G looked at the boy who was draped all over him, truly a drunken mess, and slowly moved his hand off his shoulder to his lower back. Nolan piqued his interest when he had leaned into Giroux even more after the praise came out of the captain’s mouth. G remembered being in Nolan’s shoes. Hell, he was worse than this when it came to Danny, and to this day when the man comes to visit G has to force himself to calm down. Hearing Nolan talk about the game winner gave Giroux an idea. He had heard from several amused teammates that the young center forward was in awe, asking everyone he could how it happened. JVR even told him that he saw the kid asking one of the members of the camera crew, and G knew when he caught Nolan staring that the boy’s hero worship was definitely not entirely innocent. Yes, he and Travis certainly had something underlying going on, but he could tell that neither of them had figured it out yet. Maybe it was shitty of him, but G figured he’d give this kid the praise he wanted. He did give him an assist on the game winner, after all.

“So kid, I heard you’ve been wondering how I score” Nolan shot up at that, staring at Giroux with surprisingly sharp eyes for a drunk kid.

“Yes” he breathed out, fully focused on his captain, as if whatever Giroux said next would hold the secrets to the universe. G leaned forward and whispered into Nolan’s ear

“Then why don’t you come home with me and find out” His voice was low. Commanding. It left no room for questions. Giroux watched as understanding dawned on Nolan’s face. Then he watched him get up, grab his jacket, and slowly make his way back over. Claude got his own jacket and the two of them left the bar.

Travis saw Nolan leave with G, and went to follow before he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Simmer just slowly shake his head no, and gesture back to the party. Travis slid back into a booth by himself and observed the scene before him, his drunken teammates all singing and laughing and falling all over one another. Not knowing what would happen on Monday, he stuck close to Simmer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Next chapter is straight up smut. There's no plot, so if that isn't your cup of tea you can skip it!


	2. Calling the shots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter is straight up smut. There is zero plot here. If you don't wanna read it, skip to the next chapter where our plot will actually continue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written smut before in my entire life and it probably shows! So sorry if it's clunky and awkward I do not know how to write that!

Nolan and Claude hopped out of the cab at G’s apartment, G going to pay the driver before Nolan cut him off

“He’s not allowed to pay he’s canadian!” Nolan shouted before throwing entirely too much money at the poor driver and slamming the door. Giroux laughed.

“You’re canadian too dumbass”

Nolan leaned into Giroux as they walked into the elevator to go upstairs and draped an arm over his captain’s shoulder

“Yeah but G you won the game for us you shouldn’t have to do anything! Tonight’s all on me, eh?” he said with his best drunk eyebrow wiggle.   
_ I wonder what he’s like in the sack. Will he order me around like on the ice? Is he gentle? God if he orders me around I don’t think I’ll be able to hear his voice for a few days after without fucking- _

The two departed the elevator and into Giroux’s apartment. This apartment looked lived in. Nolan’s, by contrast, did not, but that was only because he was always downstairs with TK.

_ Not the time to think about your best friend dude _ Nolan shook his head and followed G’s lead.

“God G you were just so amazing tonight I can’t-”

“Patty, did you just come here to talk hockey, or are you gonna give me another assist?” Nolan looked up at the mention of his name and had to smack himself in the arm to make sure he was seeing right.

There was Claude Giroux,  _ his captain _ sprawled out on the couch, shirt riding up to his chest, and pants down to his knees. His cock was out and growing by the second, and all Nolan could do was stare. It’s not like he  _ hadn’t _ seen his captain’s dick before

_ Okay that sounded gay _ he thought, before thinking again  _ dude it was gay you’re literally about to fuck G _ . He licked his lips

“Whatever you say G” Nolan dropped to his knees

“Actually, uh, can you stand up? I want to-” he couldn’t finish his sentence before Giroux was standing up and walking towards him. Nolan couldn’t stop staring at his thighs. G was a small guy, but his thigh muscles were absolutely massive. Nolan reached out to run his hands up and down his captain’s thighs, physically looking up at him for the first time ever. It was a lot to handle. From the look on Claude’s face, he felt the same.

“God you look good on your knees. You do this often?” Claude asked, carding a hand through Nolan’s hair and taking note of Nolan seemingly unconsciously lean into it.

“Uh, n-no it’s been a while actually.” Nolan had said, sounding slightly nervous for the first time all night. G sighed. While yeah his dick was hard and he wanted to get laid he couldn’t make this kid do it if he didn’t want to.

“Hey, Patty, you sure you want to do this? It’s okay if you don’t, no trouble, no backlash, no nothing.” G had said, running his hand down to stroke a thumb at Nolan’s jaw. Kid had a great jawline.

“Yeah! No yeah I do man, 100%” G heard him and his chirp came out before he could stop himself

“Are you  _ 200% _ ?” he teased, watching Patrick groan

“Oh my god shut the fuck up or I won’t suck your dick” Nolan growled. Giroux looked down at the boy on his knees and smirked, fisting his dick and pressing the slightly wet head against Nolan’s lips

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be giving orders, kid, so get going.” Nolan shivered at his tone and opened his mouth immediately, easing his lips a little ways down the shaft and slowly licking around the head.

“That’s it Patty” Giroux crooned, and Nolan keened at the praise

_ Am I getting turned on by this? What the fuck _ he thought as he worked his way down, hollowing out his cheeks and running his hands up and down Claude’s thighs. He knew this definitely wasn’t the best blow job of Claude’s life, because he was a little clunky and awkward with his movements, but his captain’s hands tugging on his hair told him that he was still enjoying it nonetheless. After a particularly harsh tug, Nolan suddenly let out a deep moan. He went red in the face. He didn’t know where that noise came from inside him,  _ holy shit _ .

“You like that kid?” Giroux asked, experimentally tugging on Nolan’s hair again. Nolan’s eyes slipped shut as he reached down to palm himself through his slacks. Unsatisfied with the lack of attention back on his dick, Claude gave a gentle shallow thrust into Nolan’s mouth, and watched as the boy’s eyes snapped open.

“Can you take it, Patty? Giroux asked. Nolan looked up at him and took a deep breath through his nose before sinking all the way down until his nose was pressed against his captain’s abdomen.

“Holy  _ shit _ ” Claude had a fist in his hair as he started slowly fucking Nolan’s face. Nolan’s hand was down in his slacks now, button and zipper undone as he frantically fisted his dick in time with Claude’s thrusts. He hummed around his captain’s cock, doing his best to just relax his throat and try and move his head in time. It was hard, with Claude holding his hair in a vice grip, but it was hot too, knowing he could only move if and when and  _ how _ Claude wanted him to.

“God, so good Patty. You’re so good” Claude groaned out, and Nolan couldn’t help it, he moaned around claude’s dick and came in his own hand. Claude watched the whole thing and shoved his entire cock down Nolan’s throat, coming in thick spurts. Nolan pulled back and coughed on the floor, glaring up at Giroux

“ _ Christ _ G, next time warn a guy. Rude.” he said as he wiped his mouth. Claude just stared down at him still, watching him put himself back together.

“Ugh, now my boxers are all gross. Can I wash these?” Nolan asked, standing up and stepping out of his slacks.

“Laundry room is down the hall. Get up on my bed when you’re done, we’re not finished here yet.” Claude ordered, and Nolan walked rather quickly down the hall.

_ So the kid’s got a thing for praise. Interesting _ Claude thought as he grabbed a gatorade and power bar from the kitchen and made his way slowly to his bedroom. True to his word, Nolan was on the bed, sitting up waiting for him.

“What uh, what else did you wanna do?” Nolan asked, shifting over to make room for Claude. Not responding yet, Claude just went into his bathroom and came back with a bottle of lube.

“I thought, Pats, since you were  _ so good  _ today, I’d fuck you. Unless you wanted to fuck me?”

Claude already knew the answer. The kid liked him bossing him around too much to fully take control. Nolan nodded his head dumbly, mouth agape

“Uh, no that’s- you can fuck me that’s cool, yeah” Nolan said with an air of nonchalance, as if he  _ really didn’t care _ that his captain was about to rail him into next week.

“Good boy. Hands and knees. Now” Claude dictated as he kneed his way up onto the bed, opening the lube and warming it up in his hands. Nolan had rolled over onto his hands and knees as directed, spreading his knees out so Giroux could crawl between them. He skimmed Patrick’s rim with his middle finger, teasing with light touches.

“You ever done this before Patty?” he asked, lightly pushing his finger tip inside

“Uh, s-sometimes, just...with myself.” Patrick rumbled, and the image of Nolan Patrick absolutely fucked out on his own fingers went straight to Claude’s dick. He pushed his middle finger the rest of the way in, probing and searching to see how many sounds he could draw out of the boy in front of him. Giroux was absolutely certain that he had never heard the kid this vocal in his entire life. Again, the kid was pretty quiet, until he was around Travis. The fact that the two of them hadn’t figured their shit out was a little bizarre, but G chuckled internally as he figured that after tonight they’d get it sorted.

Nolan whined, and Claude took that and added another finger in, thrusting shallowly and watching Nolan’s hips come back slowly into his hand. His dick was hanging heavy between his legs. Just like everything else about Nolan, it was absolutely massive. He finished preparing Nolan without any major occurrences, and lined himself up.

“You’re clean, right kid?” he asked, making sure.

“Y-yeah, 100% -   _ don’t say it _ ” Nolan warned. Giroux laughed.

“Good, me too”. It was all he said before he snapped his hips into Nolan. Nolan’s hands were fisted in Claude’s bed sheets as he shouted out obscenities

“OH YES” Nolan shouted, reminding Claude of earlier in the night, fresh off of their victory. He ran his hands over Nolan’s back, running them down to his hips to grip them tightly

“That’s it Patty. So good.” Claude kept a rough but steady pace, feeling the bed shift under the two of them. He reached out to pull on Nolan’s hair, dragging him up so his back was flush against the captain’s chest.

“So good for me Patty.” Claude mumbled in Nolan’s ear, making the boy clench and try and thrust down on Claude’s dick. Claude pushed Nolan back down onto the bed, drilling into him thrust after thrust. Nolan was absolutely incoherent, moaning and crying out on every thrust. Suddenly, G pulled out, and Nolan  _ whined _ .

Giroux smirked.

“Calm down kid. Flip over onto your back. I wanna see you when I make you fall apart.”

Claude had never seen the boy move faster in his life. Before he knew it, the kid was on his back, legs out, whining impatiently at him. Claude wasted no time in ploughing right back in, rolling his hips until he hit just the right spot. Nolan said the first coherent words he’d let out in minutes

“ _ FUCK Daddy right there _ ”. Claude Giroux was  _ fascinated _ . He snapped his hips in again. Nolan seemed so lost in pleasure he didn’t even notice what he’d said. Giroux bottomed out, hips flush against Nolan’s ass, and leaned up to kiss and bite at the boy’s throat. He knew he’d leave beard burn too. He knew Nolan would secretly love it.

“Yeah? You gonna be good for daddy?” Giroux preened into Nolan’s ear, and Nolan bucked his hips back against his captain, crying out affirmative answer after affirmative answer. 

“You’re always so good Nolan. Can you cum without touching yourself? Can you do it for me?” Giroux crooned, continuing to leave dark marks on Nolan’s throat and chest as his thrusts grew slightly more erratic.

“A-anything for you daddy” Nolan panted out, fisting his hands in Claude’s hair, holding him to his chest. Claude flattened his tongue and ran it over one of Nolan’s nipples, earning him a keen whine as the kid thrashed frantically. He was close, and they both knew it.

“Atta boy, yeah? Come on Patty.” Nolan felt Claude’s belly drag along his dick as the man marked his throat. Feeling his captain everywhere was overwhelming. Nolan came with an embarrassingly high pitched noise and relaxed his grip on Claude’s hair, feeling the man plow into him as he came down.

“That’s it Patty, so good, you’re so good,  _ shit _ , so good for me.” Praises fell from Claude’s lips as he thrust through his orgasm, finally pulling out and flopping himself down beside Nolan. He looked over at the boy, relaxed, eyes closed, seemingly on the edge of sleep.

“So...Daddy, huh?” Giroux asked, a smirk on his face. Without opening his eyes, Nolan flipped him off and responded.

“I think it’s the beard. But if that information leaves this room G, I don’t care that you’re my captain I  _ will _ kill you.” Claude chuckled and nodded, trailing his fingers over the marks he left on Nolan’s chest. He experimentally pressed down on one and heard Nolan hiss.

“What are you - dude what the  _ fuck _ ” Nolan growled, looking down and seeing some of Giroux’s handywork.

“Teeks is never gonna let me hear the end of it man what the fuck” Nolan was grumbling. G had to stifle a laugh.  _ Of course _ he’s thinking about Travis Konecny. G thought it was a good time to maybe do some gentle prodding. He needed this kid to go home. He was not going to be happy if he had to answer the door to a territorial right winger in the middle of the night just because he let Nolan stay. Besides. He didn’t want to give the kid the wrong impression.

“Speaking of TK, does he know your here?” Giroux asked, getting up to get a washcloth from the bathroom and throwing it at Nolan.

“Wha-? No, I mean I didn’t say bye when I left? So I dunno how?” Nolan cleaned himself off and got up to check on his slacks. G nodded and settled down in bed. He was getting up there, god damn it, and a full hockey game plus doing sexy stuff had him  _ tired _ , thank you very much. Nolan groaned from the bathroom and G looked up. The boy was inspecting everything in the mirror.

“I can’t believe you gave me fucking beard burn, really G?” Nolan complained. Giroux just raised an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it” He fired back. All Nolan could muster up in response was a    
“Shut up” before he slipped his boxers on. He got them halfway up his thighs before he looked back at Claude.

“A-am I good to go? I mean! If you want! I’ll stay if you want too, like, whatever, but-” Before Nolan could ramble on any longer, Claude saved him, feeling rather smug that Nolan was still looking for approval and orders to follow.

“Get outta here kid. Go see your boy. Wouldn’t want TK worrying about you would we eh?” Claude said with a shit-eating grin. Nolan looked a little confused but nodded, pulling his boxers up the rest of the way and buttoning up his slacks. He grabbed his phone and blanched. He had several texts and missed calls from Travis. They got progressively worse as the night went on, and as Nolan assumed, Travis had gotten even drunker than he’d left him. Guilt immediately crept into Nolan’s heart.

_ I shouldn’t have left him there, that was stupid _ . He looked up to see Claude looking at him, openly but expectantly.

“R-right. Uh. Bye. See you at practice.” Nolan called weakly before shutting the front door behind him and getting in the elevator. The ride back to his place was much quieter than the cab ride to Giroux’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol of course Nolan is thinking about Travis as he's getting rawed by Claude Giroux what kind of idiot


	3. Coming Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nolan has to face reality, which of course means facing Travis. Travis doesn't take it poorly, but is less than enthused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! This could be picked up right off of CH 1 and you wouldn't have missed anything really. Just two bros dying of hangovers and talkin bout life

In the cab back, Nolan decided to actually read his texts from Travis

_ Patty _

_ Pat _

_ Pats _

_ Pasty _

_ Patsy* _

_ Lol ur a pasty bitch though its true _

_ Where’d you go? With G? _

_ PATTY _

_ Come back I’m lonely _

_ Did you get lost _

_ Oh my god dig g murdre you _

_ PATTY ARE U ALOVE _

_ I’M COMIGN PATTYB ABY HANG IN _

_ yourr a jerk _

_ Patty we beat th epsn _

_ Come homsoon i msis you love you lsot _

Nolan sighed. The last one was sent over an hour ago. He hoped Travis wasn’t waiting up for him,  _ especially _ when he was gonna see exactly what Nolan had gotten up to. He felt bad, he didn’t know Travis would be so worried. He should’ve figured the guy would eventually figure it out. The two lived together, of course they’d go home together.

_ I’ll just stop by his apartment. To check on him. Yeah. _

Nolan pulled his copy of Travis’ apartment key out of his wallet and remembered when he first moved into the building and Travis had given it to him

_ “Patty isn’t this great! You can come over all the time and - oh! Here! Now you don’t have to wait for me to answer the door, just come on in! This is gonna be awesome!” _

Nolan closed the door behind him as quietly as he could, making his way through the apartment. He saw Travis passed out on the couch, snoring softly with his phone pressed against his face.

A light smile made its way to Nolan’s face as he tsk’ed at his friend.

“Dumbass” he chuckled, as he went into Travis’ bedroom and pulled the blankets off his bed, throwing them over the unconscious forward. He went into the kitchen and pulled Travis’ favorite gatorade out of the fridge, grabbing his own favorite before thinking better of it and putting it back in the door. He had more gatorade upstairs if he wanted it. He put Travis’ preferred flavor down on the coffee table next to the couch and loosened the cap. Satisfied that Travis was safe and sound, Nolan locked the door behind him and went up to his own apartment, stripping down to his boxers and crawling into bed.

Nolan woke up early the next morning. He checked his phone for more messages, finding none, and laid in bed for a few minutes, really allowing the previous night to wash over him.

_ Shit, I really went home with G. Whatever. It’s only gay if we’re sober, right? Is it gay if I maybe really want him to do it again? God that was hot. _ Nolan absently scratched his chest and was reminded of all the marks that were left on him. He got up and got dressed, venturing out into the world to pick up some breakfast. He snagged a few breakfast sandwiches and retreated back to his apartment. Nolan changed into sweatpants, taking off his shirt and wrapping himself in his duvet before he made the trek down to Travis’ apartment. He unlocked the door and threw a breakfast sandwich in the general direction of the couch, chuckling at the muffled groan he heard as the sandwich connected with its intended target.

“Pat what the  _ fuck _ -” Travis grumbled, slowly sitting up

“Why am I on the couch” he looked around, squinting through sleepy eyelids as he surveyed the area. He saw the blanket, and the breakfast sandwich, and the gatorade and shot his friend a cheesy smile

“Did you do all this for lil ole me? You’re the best”

“Shut up. Move over” Nolan grumbled as he shoved Travis’ lower half onto the floor and took his seat on the couch. He heard Travis drink some off the gatorade and tear into his breakfast

“Ugh. You treat me so good Patty” he rasped out with a full mouth. Nolan rolled his eyes and ate his own breakfast sandwich. He realized he was suddenly overheating, but it was probably the hot sandwich, his duvet, and the climb of the stairs. The two forwards laid on the couch, nursing their hangovers together watching whatever shitty television show was on on a Sunday morning. It was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Travis kept shifting, his feet kept kicking Nolan’s thighs, but Nolan tried to ignore it.

“I think I’m dying” Travis croaked out after he deemed their companionable silence too long. Nolan groaned as Travis kept shuffling around on the couch

“For someone who’s dying you sure seem to be moving a whole fucking lot dude” Nolan snarked as Travis groaned and laid out on the couch, putting his legs over the arm and his upper torso and head in Nolan’s lap

“Dude what-”

“Shhhhh shh. Shh Patty I just need to lay just for a minute.” Travis whined. His eyes were closed. Nolan let out a deep sigh and looked down at his friend. He looked peaceful. Content.

_ Oh no I’m not having that shit at all _ Nolan thought as he reached down and flicked Travis’ nose

“ _ Hey  _ watch i- holy  _ shit _ Patty your neck!” Travis had opened his eyes after Nolan’s prodding, and was at the perfect angle to see the damage their captain had done on Nolan the night before. Travis reached his arm up to poke and prod at the bruises. Nolan had to keep slapping his hand away

“Dude  _ stop _ touching them I swear to god I hate you so fucking much” Nolan grumbled out.

“Pat did you  _ get some? _ You  _ totally did! _ Atta boy Patty! Oh my god is that why you weren’t answering my calls? Who was it? Did you and G go out looking for ladies together? Is that why you  _ left me _ ? Is G a better wingman than I am Patty?” Nolan groaned loudly and shoved Travis’ face off his lap and over towards the coffee table

“I liked you  _ so much better _ when you were dying" Nolan sighed. He was realizing how little sleep he had gotten the night before. Two rounds with Giroux after a game was still leaving him sore and fatigued. He closed his eyes and leaned back on the couch

“Shit do we have skate today? I don’t think I’m gonna make it” Nolan complained to Travis, who was still staring at his neck. Travis shook his head.

“Nope” he popped the “p” in the word, which he only did anymore to annoy Nolan.

“So you’ve got  _ plenty  _ of time to tell me  _ all about your night _ ” Travis sat up a little more and scooched over so that he was closer to Nolan. Nolan sat in silence for a couple moments. Did he just come right out and tell Travis? Would that make it weird? He couldn’t lie though, Travis would know. Maybe if he was subtle, he could drop clues to lead Travis to figure it out. Nolan almost laughed. He wasn’t subtle. He knew that.

“You saw most of it, we were at the bar and then I left with G”

“Yeah but where did you and G  _ go _ ? Did  _ he _ pick up too? OH man I wish I was there I wanna see him try and pick up  _ so bad _ . Do you think he’d be good at it? I mean he’s a star hockey player with a decent ‘hot dad’ look going for him” Travis rambled on while Nolan went red in the face at the subject of the “hot dad” look. He remembered  _ that _ from last night too. Wait did  _ Travis _ think G was hot? Nolan wasn’t gay or anything, he just sometimes found certain guys attractive in certain situations. So he’d sucked the occasional dick in juniors, everybody did, it wasn’t gay it was just a thing. But if Travis was gay, that was cool. It was totally chill. Absolutely fine.

“Oh Trav he’s really good at it. He’s got some great lines. Really rheeled in a beauty.” Travis chuckled at that.

“Yeah Patty? He teach you a thing or two?” Nolan’s cheeks were red, but he hoped that since they were  _ fucking always like that _ they wouldn’t give him away just yet.

“Yeah you could say that” Nolan side eyed Travis, who, after feeling he  _ definitely _ wasn’t getting enough information, jabbed Nolan with his elbow.

“Come onnnnn Patty just tell me! Where did you guys go? Can I come next time?” Nolan had kept his eyes closed for the entire encounter, and Travis had enough of that. He leaned over and peeled one of his friend’s eyelids back. Nolan hissed and shoved him away

“ _ Oh my god stop. We didn’t go out to another place, we didn’t pick up any crazy women, we just went back to G’s, are we done now? _ ” Travis leaned back and looked at Nolan.

“But...you must’ve went out after, right? And found somebody? How else did you get all that? I mean it’s not like -” Travis cut himself off mid ramble. He reached over and hesitantly gripped Nolan’s jaw. Nolan didn’t move, eyes snapped open at the contact staring at Travis. Travis lifted Nolan’s jaw slightly and pulled his duvet cover down to expose the rest of his neck and upper chest.

“That’s not a rash. That’s...beard burn.  _ You hooked up with G _ ”. Travis sounded incredulous. He was quieter than Nolan thought he’d be. His hand was still on Nolan’s jaw, and he was sitting entirely too close for Nolan’s comfort as he pieced together what happened. Nolan and Travis spent probably a little too long staring at one another in complete silence with Travis still gently holding Nolan’s jaw.

“How’d you guys- are you like-  _ It’s totally cool if you are _ ! I just - is this a  _ thing _ ? Are you and G...”

“We’re not together.” Nolan cut Travis off before he could continue.

“I dunno, I’m not like, gay, but last night during the game with the rain and the mist he just looked hot barking out orders and fucking up the pens. When he scored and I didn’t know how he did it I was like ‘oh man he’s just amazing’ so he found out I was wondering and that smooth fucker said ‘I heard you’ve been wondering how I score. Come home with me and find out’ and his voice was just...I did” Nolan was shifting uncomfortably. Travis was still right there. After a moment, Travis had processed it and shifted back onto the other end of the couch. It was how they always sat, but after having just been so close Nolan felt like his best friend was miles away.

“Did he order you to, or did you want to” Nolan looked up at Travis. He was staring straight ahead, his jaw set and eyes sharp.

“Teeks, wha-”

“ _ Did he order you to do it, or did you want to _ ” Travis gritted out, slower this time. Nolan was baffled. He knew Travis was protective, but this...it looked like Travis was ready to  _ murder their captain _ .

“No no no, dude, it’s cool. I wanted to. I mean I wasn’t sure at first but then the way he was talking just got me psyched up and I was about it. He said since I gave him an assist he should give me one” Travis relaxed marginally at that, but not much. Though his eyes got a lot wider

“Holy shit  _ you fucked G _ ?” His mouth was hanging open and Nolan thought if it wasn’t an incredibly inappropriate time, he’d take a picture of it to laugh at later.

“Uh...n-no. I mean not that I didn’t have the option! He told me I could! I just-” Travis looked constipated with how hard he was thinking. His stare at Nolan made the taller boy feel forced to finish his sentence.

“ _ IjustlikedhimcallingtheshotsokayIthinkit’shot _ ” he rushed out, voice low and gravelly as he avoided looking up at Travis. He fidgeted with his discarded duvet, trying to cover up all of the marks that Giroux made. Not that it mattered. Travis knew.

“Is that like...what does it...for you?” Travis asked slowly, whether it was because he was trying to make sure it’d come out right or just absolutely baffled Nolan wasn’t sure.

“Oh my god Trav  _ please _ don’t be weird about this it’s probably not even gonna happen again.”

“Okay but is this  _ gonna _ make it weird? Dude we’re all lineys now there’s  _ no way _ it won’t be weird” Travis shifted back over closer to Nolan

“I don’t care that you’re gay, or not gay, or, whatever, man. I just wanna make sure you’re okay. We see him  _ every day _ ” Travis was surprisingly still for the duration of this conversation, Nolan hadn’t usually seen him so serious off the ice.

“I’ll be fine teeks, it’s not like I’m in love with the guy or anything. I thought he was hot, we fucked, I went home. That’s it. Promise.” Travis nodded and slumped over so he was leaning on Nolan, head resting on his shoulder. Just like that the moment was shattered. Nolan groaned.

“Oh my god you’re so fucking annoying get off”

“I can’t I’m too weak. Just-just let me. Just for a minute it’s fine.” Nolan sighed. From lack of sleep the night before, and the surprisingly emotionally taxing conversation just now, he was exhausted.

“Fine. But just don’t move. I’m tired.” Travis chuckled

“I bet you are big guy” Nolan reached around to flick his nose but ended up with his arm draped around the smaller man. Whatever.

“Travis” Nolan warned, already slipping off to dreamland

“Hmm?” Was the equally tired response.

“Tell anyone about any of this and I’ll kick your ass” Nolan’s eyes slipped shut

“Wouldn’t dream of it, buddy” Was the last thing he heard before sleep pulled him under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just two dudes bein bros falling asleep on the couch together nothing to see here...


	4. Dinners and Daydreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis gets posessive, G continues to be an asshole, and Nolan is just trying to do his job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just two dudes bein bros falling asleep on one another nbd it's cool it's chill it's casual

When Nolan awoke next it was dark out. He moved his head a little bit but his temple was rubbing on a weird texture. He tried to stretch but couldn’t really move. Nolan finally picked his head up and surveyed the surroundings. Travis was tucked into his side, head still on his shoulder. Nolan raised his shoulder gently to try and wake the boy.

“Mmmn five more minutes babe” Travis grumbled. Nolan turned red. Who did Travis think he was with? Nolan looked down at him and thought about just staying and letting him sleep more. Nolan almost jumped when he felt something wet touch his nipple. His head snapped down and he saw a trail of drool connected to Travis’ mouth. The drool was almost covering his entire chest and was quickly encroaching on his sweatpants

“Travis you’re  _ fucking disgusting _ ” he grumbled as he sharply raised his shoulder

“Hwa? SHIT! Patty? Why are you here...what the fuck?” Travis jumped back to the other side of the couch, eyes wide and stared at Nolan.

“We fell asleep I guess. You fucking drooled on me you hick” Nolan grouched. Travis threw the closest thing he could find, which was his empty gatorade bottle

“Then go shower you fucker” Nolan grumbled at Travis and got up. Travis immediately started whining

“Nooo wait what do you wanna do for dinner” Nolan stared at him.

“Travis are you saying you want...to cook” Travis laughed at that

“OH absolutely not. But it’s dinner time. And I’m dying because you woke me up so I deserve nice things.” Nolan rolled his eyes.

“Fine. I’ll be back down in half an hour. Can you wait that long princess?” He asked. Travis flipped him off and shooed him away, picking up all of his blankets and meandering back into his room.

“Don’t go back to sleep!” Nolan warned

“Fuck you!” Travis shouted as Nolan left the apartment. He shook his head and went upstairs to shower. While Nolan was in the shower, Travis let their entire conversation replay in his head.

_ Nolan and G? I didn’t know either of them were into dudes. And Nolan? Being told what to do? No way...I wonder if he like...liked it. _ Travis tried to shake himself out of the thought of his  _ best friend _ having sex with their  _ captain _ . Really he tried not to think about his best friend having sex at all.  _ That’s fucking weird what are you doing _ he’d think to himself before attempting to busy himself with other tasks. It never fully worked. He had  _ so many questions _ . Travis himself hopped in the shower and forced the thoughts out of his head.

_ You can’t think about it now because you’re naked and that’d be weird _ he thought to himself, pretending that him thinking about Nolan getting fucked by Claude  _ wasn’t _ weird to begin with, but whatever. Travis still felt uncertain about the whole thing. It felt like G took advantage of Nolan and used his captain status as leverage. He knew Nolan said it was fine, but he also knew what it was like to have someone you admire give you attention and offer to take you home. He just felt like Nolan was definitely taken advantage of in this situation and resolved that while he wouldn’t  _ do _ anything, he’d keep an eye on Nolan and Claude’s interactions. To make sure there was no funny business. The door opened to the bathroom. Travis almost screamed but it was just Nolan.

“Dude you’ve been in here forever, did you die?” Nolan asked, unable to really see Travis through the fogged up shower glass. He didn’t realize he’d been in there so long. He told Nolan to wait for him in the living room and finished up his shower in record time, running out into the living room in just a towel. He slicked his hair back to get it out of his face and found Nolan leaning against the counter on his phone.

“Hey! Since you were waiting  _ sooo long _ did you at least get dinner?” Travis asked, putting his hands on his towel-clad hips. Nolan snorted and pointed over onto the coffee table, where a respectably large box of chinese food was waiting for them along with far too many pairs of chopsticks. Travis grinned and slapped Nolan’s shoulder with his hand and shook him slightly.

“Atta boy Patty! Coming in clutch!” Nolan flushed at the praise and his mostly naked friend, before shrugging off his hand.

“Whatever. Shut up. Get dressed.” Nolan moved over to sit on the couch and open the big box of food. Travis came back out in just a pair of sweatpants and sat down, wrestling with Nolan over the contents of the box. It was normal. Nice. No trace of what happened early that afternoon remained between them except for the marks on Nolan and his sore throat. The sore throat made Nolan pissy but he couldn’t do much about it but hope it was gone by the morning. He didn’t want to even think about what chirping Giroux would have for him when he heard Nolan’s voice. They finished dinner and turned to the xbox, playing a few rounds of COD before bed. Nolan sat up and pulled himself off the couch, shooting Travis a look before waving him a goodnight and heading back up to his own apartment.

* * *

Nolan and Travis walked into the locker room at Voorhees to the regular shuffle of getting ready. A few of the vets would keep coming up to Nolan and asking him if he figured out how G scored the game winner. At first, Nolan looked around wildly for Claude, making eye contact and watching him. Claude looked smug, but raised his eyebrows at Nolan expectantly. Travis grabbed Nolan’s elbow lightly, anchoring him. The two locked eyes. Travis’ jaw was set, eyes hard as the two got ready. Other than the slight teasing, there weren’t any wild chirps flying around. They all got out for skate and Nolan skated over to Giroux

“ _ Did you fucking tell them _ ” Nolan towered over his captain, trying his best to be intimidating. His voice, however, was giving enough away to Giroux. He had a sly smirk.

“No Patty, I haven’t told them anything, but they all remember you asking them on Saturday. By the way...what’s with your voice?” G swept his gaze over the rest of his boys noticing that lingering halfway between him and them was Travis, watching him with a sharp gaze. He winked at the young right winger. Nolan tried very hard  _ not _ to say “Oh my voice is fucked up because  _ you _ wanted to fuck into my esophagus” so instead he just grunted and leveled his captain with a glare.

“Go join the boys Patty.” G lowered his voice, captain register coming out. Nolan swallowed, flushing as G’s orders brought him back to Saturday night. He shook his head and skated over to the rest of the team, Travis immediately behind.

“Patty! What did he wanna say to you? Did he tell anyone? I don’t care he’s our captain or liney or anything I’ll kill him.” Travis snarled. Nolan smirked at his friend.

“Don’t worry Teeks, everyone’s just giving me a hard time about the game saturday, no problems.” He lightly swayed into Travis, hip checking him affectionately to drive home his point. Travis grinned and swatted at Nolan’s helmet before skating away. Okay. So Nolan  _ might _ have a problem with G barking orders at him, but lucky for him it was easy to focus on the task at hand and keep himself in the game. Travis was  _ always _ watching the two of them like a hawk. If G was going to try and take advantage it  _ wouldn’t _ be on his watch, god damnit. Skate wound down without further incident. As they walked down the tunnel past G, him congratulating each of them, he grabbed Nolan’s elbow to keep him a moment longer and whisper his praise in the kids ear. Who could blame him? Now that he knew how easy it was, it was impossible to resist.

“You were so good today, yeah?” Nolan clenched his jaw and nodded stiffly, knowing he couldn’t react in the moment without scorn. Right after Nolan was Travis. G nodded at him and gave him a

“Good job today TK”. Travis punched into his hand harder than usual, causing G to raise his eyebrows in slight apparent surprise. He watched the two go down the tunnel, lightly shoving one another and grinning like giddy school kids. They’d figure it out soon if Travis’ watching every interaction had anything to say about it. Even  _ if _ Travis didn’t know why he cared so much yet. They all had a game the next day against the Sabres, they needed to rest up and be ready to defend on home turf and usurp them in the standings. The way back to their apartments was mostly quiet, with Travis driving and Nolan looking absently out the window. Travis couldn’t stop thinking about G and Nolan’s interactions, and Nolan couldn’t stop thinking about Giroux’ praise.

_ Is this gonna be a regular thing? _ Both of them ended up thinking, both in regards to their captain. Travis pulled into the parking garage, and the two made their way up to his apartment. The duo sat on the couch and popped in a movie. Every few minutes, Nolan would catch Travis on his phone checking the news sites.

“Trav don’t do it. We’ll probably know before the world does anyway” Nolan said softly, reaching over to gently take the phone out of his friend’s hand. Travis himself had been quiet for most of the day.

“He wasn’t at skate” Travis commented softly. Nolan knew this. They all were at skate and hoping, praying, that he would show up with a smile and a “let’s go boys” and assuage all their worries. But he also knew they were being selfish with wanting their friend to spend what were potentially his last hours in Philadelphia with a team that he wasn’t sure he would be a part of anymore by the end of the day. Nolan slid over on the couch, not all the way, but enough that their knees were touching. He knew that Travis and Wayne were closer than himself and Wayne were, and he was already missing the man’s larger than life presence. He couldn’t imagine how Travis must feel.

_ Wayne I hope you stay. For you, and for us, but most importantly for him _ . Nolan found himself thinking, knowing how torn up Travis would be if Wayne was gone. Nolan was so used to Travis’ easy smiles and laughter and joy, the absence of those in this moment felt monumental. They watched bad movies and ate junk food until the deadline. Nolan checked his phone at three o’ clock sharp. There was no news about Wayne. He knew that trades could come in late, but maybe,  _ just maybe _ Fletch had listened to them. Maybe Wayne got to stay. Nolan handed Travis his phone back and saw him instantly check the news, coming to the same conclusion as Nolan. Travis gave him a huge grin.

“Patty...he hasn’t been traded. He’s still here!” Travis let out a bark of pure joy. Nolan shot his friend a hesitant smile. He knew that it looked good now, but until 3:30 hit they wouldn’t  _ really _ know. Travis turned on regular television and put on TSN so they could catch up on the trades the rest of the NHL did throughout the day. Nolan got up and wandered into the kitchen

“I’m getting a gatorade and a power bar you want some?” Nolan shouted to Travis. He had to rummage a little to find the bars he liked, Travis always kept them up high because “You can reach them up there, I can’t”. By the time he came back out of the kitchen a few minutes later, Travis had paused the live broadcast, ahd held his head in his hands.

“Teeks?” Nolan questioned quietly, gently putting down two gatorades and two power bars on the coffee table. Nolan looked up and saw Wayne’s face on the screen. He closed his eyes and put his head down. He sighed deeply. They all knew it was most likely going to happen, but seeing it  _ actually _ happen was…

“Teeks?” he asked again quietly, sitting down next to his friend, pressing his side firmly against Travis’. He didn’t realize Travis was shaking until they had made physical contact. It was gentle shaking, and Travis was wiping furiously at his eyes. Nolan just sat quietly, knowing his friend was proud and didn’t need or want Nolan to coddle him. So the two sat in silence. Nolan tried to gather his thoughts as Travis got himself together. Nolan uncapped both gatorades and took a swig of his, nudging Travis’ closer to him.

“Thanks” Travis croaked out, reaching out with shaky hands and taking a sip.

“Looks like we’ll have to follow the preds a little more closely” Nolan mumbled quietly, hoping to get a smile out of his friend. Travis gave him a watery laugh. Nolan sat back, changing the channel on the television to the history channel, knowing Travis would eventually want to mock the ancient alien show, before raising his arms to both rest on the back of the couch. Travis sniffled a few more times before rubbing his eyes and leaning back, winding up pressed up close to Nolan. Nolan, thinking Travis could use the physical contact, stayed put despite beginning to overheat. Travis wiped at his eyes a few more times, settling down and watching the program with Nolan. He would occasionally let out a laugh, or quietly chirp someone on the screen, but otherwise he stayed put. Nolan  _ hated _ it. Travis was always so animated, always moving and talking and laughing. Usually Nolan was the quieter of the two. After a few episodes, Travis reached across Nolan, winding up chest to chest with his head tucked under Nolan’s chin, his arm extended past the pair. Nolan held his breath for a minute.

“Teeks what are you doing.”

“Oh shut up Patty I’m just trying to get the remote but your arms are miles long.

“Why didn’t you just...ask” Travis kept reaching. Just do be a dick, once Travis’ fingers brushed the remote, Nolan dropped it onto the couch cushion below. Travis groaned and fell in place, winding up with his stomach sprawled across Nolan’s lap and his torso on the cushions beside him, finally grasping the remote with a triumphant sound. He sat back up and changed the channel, but Nolan didn’t know to what, he was still paying attention to the man on the move beside him.

“You’re the worst you know that?” Travis teased, settling back in next to Nolan and sipping his gatorade. Nolan rolled his eyes. He got his friend to smile again, even if it was small, and he’d count that as a victory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I wonder if I could write these two to be any stupider and honestly I'm not sure.  
> As always constructive critisism is always welcomed!


	5. Bruised and Boozed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nolan gets roughed up during the Sabres game. Travis is not happy about it. After the game, Claude finally lets Nolan off the hook, but Travis still thinks their captain is playing a long game of using Nolan for sex. He sticks closer to Nolan, but with them being so close already, neither one seems to truly notice or mind. Even if the rest of the world does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Travis fighting the entire Sabres roster for Patty during last Tuesday's game.

Travis had spent a lot more time since Sunday afternoon’s conversation watching Nolan. Especially when they were on the same line, it felt like a good move. The two had  _ great _ chemistry, and everybody knew it. During a game especially, Travis felt safe knowing that G wouldn’t try and come between that. The thought itself shocked him as soon as it registered in his head.  _ G isn’t getting between us we’re still best friends, what? Like nothing is different?  _ Travis shook his head. A game against someone they needed to jump in the standings  _ wasn’t _ the time to think about anything except hockey. They only had a one goal lead, he had to focus.

Everything happened in slow motion. He saw Patty battling for the puck over by the net, staying over in his zone skating around to shake off some Sabres players that were hanging around. He saw somebody’s stick hit his friend up high.  _ Ouch. _ He thought, turning from tiny sympathy to pure rage as he watched the same player  _ shove _ Nolan into the glass while his back was turned and start to crowd him. Travis was pretty sure he  _ snarled _ . As he raced over he saw Nolan turn around and shove the guy away, before being caged off by the ref. Giroux got there first, getting held back by an opposing player, both of them pinning one another to the glass to keep from interfering. Travis didn’t give a shit about breaking it up, he wanted to teach that guy a lesson. 

“You think you’re hot shit, fucker?” He yelled as he approached his target.  _ You want a fight I’ll give you one _ he growled in his mind, flying in at full speed behind the opposing number 19, launching himself at him and wrapping his arms around his neck, dragging him back. He felt others descending down on him, he didn’t care.  _ I’ll fucking fight all of you you dirty motherfuckers. _ He felt people grab onto him and get pulled off. Out off the corner of his eye he saw Gudy and Hagger jump into the fray.  _ Good _ he thought. Eventually he was pulled off and turned around by one of the refs, his mind still snarling in rage. He could swear if anyone saw his eyes they’d just read  _ fight me _ in them. Gudy was telling all the refs to fuck off,  _ clearly Patty was fucking targeted you fucks _ and he guessed they listened, since the only one sent to the box, was Patty himself for slashing. 

Nolan left the “safety” of the ref’s cage against the glass and skated over to G, exchanging a few words. He had seen Giroux begin skating towards the trouble in his peripherals when he spun to face the glass, and wanted to thank him for helping out.

“Thanks for the help G. I could’ve handled it, but still...thanks.” He looked down at his Captain, hoping for approval or praise  _ God that’s fucked up dude we’re in the middle of a game not now _ but Claude didn’t seem to even spare him a glance as he watched the rest of the scrum dissipate.

“Don’t thank me Patsy thank your boy” He said with a nod over to the middle of where the scrum had just been. Nolan had seen the whole thing. He saw how Travis had raced in and created chaos back behind the net, drawing half the Sabres roster towards him like moths to flame. He saw how his best friend had zeroed in on his attacker and gone to town. He saw Gudy and Hagger come in to try and pull the extra guys off of Travis. Nolan was always so impressed by how physical his best friend could be despite his size. Travis was smaller than all those guys and still somehow managed to be doing the most damage. It was incredible. He didn’t know why G kept calling Travis “his boy” but Nolan was always a little choked up when he thought about how devoted Travis was to sticking up for his team.

Travis tracked him as he skated over to the box, eyes sharpening as he saw him stop by Giroux. Travis watched their exchange, which looked innocent enough, but one could never be too sure. He saw Nolan make the rest of the way to the box and sit down. Travis had decided that he looked okay. Seeing that his friend was fine calmed Travis a little bit, and allowed him to refocus.

Nolan, once in the box, looked up to the screen to watch the whole thing from a different angle than his own vision had allowed on the ice, and  _ holy shit.  _ The way Travis moved, even at high speed with reckless abandon, was captivating. Being physical wasn’t a huge part of Nolan’s game. He wouldn’t shy away from it, but it wasn’t something he really sought out all the time the way Travis seemed to attract it. The boy in this video recap was a force of nature, he couldn’t be stopped. Nolan hadn’t even really been hit that bad, but  _ christ _ the way Travis came in it was like Nolan had died. He smiled to himself.  _ Go get ‘em dude _ .

They crushed Buffalo. They all skated off the ice, Nolan giving G a quick fist bump before being grabbed by the elbow.

“Wait for me” G ordered. Nolan nodded wordlessly and walked down the tunnel, waiting at the end for G to finish congratulating the boys. He was a little nervous.  _ What does G want? _ He asked himself.  _ Does he want a repeat of Saturday night? That’d make it like, a thing. I can’t. Travis is definitely still upset that Wayne is gone, and besides, that dumbass struggles with simple tasks. I’ll just have to tell G no. That’s not a problem, right? _ Nolan was trying to figure out how to tell his captain he didn’t want them to fuck, when Giroux emerged at the end of the tunnel and clapped his hand down on Nolan’s shoulder, looking up at him with a calm open expression as he steered them towards the locker room. Nolan figured it’d be best to just spit it all out now.

“Sorry G I can’t come home with you tonight I really should just go home and sleep. Not that it wasn’t fun! And stuff! But like. G us doing it again I think then it becomes a  _ thing _ and I-”

Nolan stopped when he realized G was laughing. He quirked his brow.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Nolan” Giroux wheezed. “Nolan I didn’t make you wait so I could ask you to sleep with me, what? No. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I know you took a hit early on, I’m sorry for not checking on you sooner. Are you good?” Nolan blushed, not that anyone would notice because his cheeks were already flaring.

“Oh...uh, um, I mean. I’m fine. I’m good. It’s cool.” He mumbled out a string of unnecessary affirmations, looking down at his skates. Giroux sighed beside him.

“Patsy, that night...look, everything is  _ fine _ . It’s no big deal, so don’t sweat it eh? I’m not expecting you to get on your knees for me every time we win a game, okay?” Nolan nodded, small smile quirking at his lips. Giroux continued.

“Besides, you’re a beauty, you can catch someone your own age instead of occasionally fucking around with a 30 year old that you’ll probably end up surpassing by the time you’re 25, yeah?” Claude knew that everything he was saying to Nolan Patrick was almost exactly what 31 year old Danny Briere had said to 20 year old Claude Giroux. The only difference this time was that Claude knew Nolan hadn’t truly picked him, the way that he himself had picked Danny. Where Claude was determined to show Danny that he didn’t care the man was older, Nolan looked slightly relieved, and a lot more relaxed. Nolan had nodded again, larger smile on his face.

“That makes sense..thanks G.” As they turned the corner into the locker room, Nolan had given Giroux a broad, open smile. He felt weird that their roll in the hay was only a one time thing, liking the attention that _ their captain _ had given  _ him _ , but better knowing that Giroux was, as always, looking out for his best interests. His smile curled into a smirk.

“And what was that about besting you when I’m 25, eh?” Giroux laughed and gave Nolan a friendly pat on the butt, throwing him a wink as he made his way back to his stall.

Travis had watched them come in, watched Giroux laugh at whatever Nolan had said, watched him  _ slap Nolan’s butt _ which could have been normal but  _ what if it wasn’t _ and then  _ wink at him _ . Giroux made eye contact with Travis after waving Nolan off and then sent  _ him _ a wink.  _ What the fuck _ Travis thought. Travis immediately wanted to grill Nolan about it, but stopped himself.  _ He’ll tell me what he wants when he wants, now isn’t the time or place _ . Travis figured he wouldn’t have to wait long. Nolan would tell him in the car, or back at their apartment. He shot his friend a bright smile and commenced with getting out of his gear. Nolan thunked down and bumped knees with Travis in greeting, while he too started to strip off his pads. The locker room was buzzing, everyone shouting over one another about which bar they should go to. Nolan just hoped wherever he went he wouldn’t get carded this time. He could use a fucking drink after that dirty hit in the first.

They all piled into McGillin’s. Travis settled down at one of the tables, saving the spot next to him for Nolan. He searched around for him and found his friend at the bar, with  _ G _ . Travis intensified his gaze and tried to hear what they were saying. He knew it was a lost cause, but still made a valiant effort. He saw Nolan throw down some cash and slide a beer and a shot over to their captain.  _ Is this a regular thing? _ Travis grumbled in his head, watching the two of them each knock back their shots and deciding he should  _ not _ be leaving the two alone after they had won. He scrambled up and joined them at the bar, squeezing himself in between the two of them so he was pressed hard into Nolan’s side. G gave a smirk as Nolan cracked a wide smile.

“There you are Teeks! I was just about to go looking for you!” Nolan leaned back into Travis, so the two were just pressing into one another at the bar.

“I just wanted to buy G a drink cause he did good today. You snag us a seat?” Travis nodded and grabbed Nolan by the elbow, keeping him tucked close as he guided him through the semi-crowded bar. They sat at one of the booths that had been claimed by the team, both shoving into the last space on the end. There wasn’t enough space to fit the two of them side by side, so Nolan wound up with half of Travis in his lap.

“Who easy bro” Nolan steadied him and chuckled. If the two hadn’t been so physical in the past few days it would’ve definitely caught Nolan off guard, and potentially made him uncomfortable, but as things were they were just trying to fit in the booth with their friends, who cares? Travis leaned forward towards the table, grabbing Nolan’s beer and taking a swig. Nolan grumbled at him.

“Get your own, dumbass.” Nolan then tried to shove Travis off of him and out of the booth, but Travis clung on, wrapping his arms around Nolan’s neck and anchoring himself in place.

“I bought you AND G one last time! If anything you owe ME one!” Travis argued. Nolan sighed “Alright, get up then and I’ll get you one”

“No dude we just sat down”

“Oh my god you’re so annoying how am I supposed to buy you a beer if you won’t  _ get up _ ”

“You’re smart Patty you can figure something out.” Travis looked on at his teammates, who were chuckling but otherwise unfazed by the duo’s antics. He figured Nolan would just ball up some bills and throw them onto the bar, man he’d love to see that. All of a sudden Nolan was moving. Travis squawked and scrambled, his arms still wrapped tight to his friend, he swung his legs around to wrap around Nolan’s waist, clinging to him like a koala as Nolan stood up.

“Christ I fucking hate you” he grumbled, waddling over to the bar.

“Patty  _ what _ are you doing” Travis cackled, his chin resting on Nolan’s shoulder.

“Feel free to get the fuck off any time, Teeks, but since you wouldn’t move I figured I would. Hi! Yes, sir, can I get another one for this literal child? Oh, and two shots.” Nolan gripped the underside of one of Travis’ thighs and moved it up, reaching into his pocket for his wallet and depositing more cash down on the bar.

Claude Giroux watched the entire interaction from the other end of the bar with a raised brow. It looked like maybe the two were getting somewhere. Still, Nolan clearly had his hands full, so G got up and meandered towards them.

“Need an assist, Patty?” Giroux asked, handing the beer to the younger center and picking up the two shot glasses, resting a hand on Nolan’s back. Travis remembered the language Nolan had used to describe his night with the captain, and picked his head up.  _ Is he seriously trying to make a move right now? _ Travis tried to straighten and give Giroux a warning glare, but it was hard to shift in his current position, so he just had to watch G’s hand stay on Nolan’s back until they got to the table. Nolan sat back down and Travis waited to unwind himself, still having to be squished in close to fit in the booth.

“Thanks G, I owe you one” Nolan smiled at their captain, who just waved him off.

“Next one’s on me, eh? You had to deal with a lot today” G said, meaning the hit from the game, and also shooting an amused glance at Travis. Nolan nodded as Giroux wandered back to his perch. Travis, once he checked to see their captain was gone, untangled himself from his friend, and resmed their cramped half-in-each-other’s-laps seating arrangement from a few minutes prior. Nolan handed him one of the shot glasses and took the other one.

“For having my back Teeks. I’m sure Simmer is proud.” Travis got a little choked up at that, but took the shot anyway. They slammed them back and Travis started on his beer, the two of them occasionally contributing to the conversation around them, but mainly bickering with one another. After a few more drinks - Nolan had kept giving teammates money to get him and Travis more beer - the two were relaxed and in their own world, laughing and joking with one another. The booth was only about three quarters full now, there was plenty of room for them to both have an actual seat, but neither noticed. They didn’t seem to mind anymore, lost in their conversation that nobody else seemed to care to understand. Travis was snapped out of his conversation with Nolan when he saw another glass of beer land on the table, accompanied by Giroux’s voice.

“Bought you a beer kid. Last one’s on me.” Travis looked up at Giroux, and back to Nolan, whose cheeks had held a darker shade of red. He looked bashful with their new arrival, and Travis didn’t know what to make of it.

“What’s this for G?” Nolan asked, looking up at their captain. As far as he knew he didn’t do anything super substantial this past game, he had a good game sure but he wasn’t spectacular by any means.

“Just a thank you, a good job, for, y’know, everything.” G had said vaguely, meaning the game earlier and the shot they had for Wayne at the beginning of the night. Travis immediately thought the worst, thought Giroux was  _ thanking Nolan _ for going home with him the other night. He didn’t look up at his captain, but kept his eyes in his own glass, which was now nearing half empty. He wouldn’t stop Nolan from going home with Claude if that was what Nolan really wanted, but he wanted to make sure that Nolan was doing it for himself, and not because their captain had suggested it and he felt compelled to please. Travis knew how Nolan was, he aimed to please, so of course if their captain offers him a way to do that he’s gonna take it. Travis gulped down some more of his drink and watched out of the corner of his eye as Claude wandered away. He was quiet for a minute.

“If you're gonna go with him...just...go because it’s your choice, not his, okay?” Nolan shifted them so he could look at Travis. His smile was relaxed and open as he sipped his last beer.

“What? Trav I’m not going home with him. I’m gonna go home with you, come on man.” Nolan went back to his beer and Travis smiled, feeling something in his chest loosen. The two finished their drinks quietly chatting, before Travis finally pried himself off of Nolan so they could go home.

Claude Giroux watched the two walk out of the bar leaning on each other and smiled. They’d get there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Claude Giroux loves all of his boys but these two are by far the most fun for him to people watch. Seeing them begin what looks like a very long, very strange mating ritual is priceless.
> 
> I feel like everyone on the team is so used to their antics that nobody even pays them any attention anymore.


	6. Bickering (not) brothers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis struggles with the development of Claude & Nolan's relationship on and off the ice, but his desperation to keep his friend out of their captain's clutches creates some awkward moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just more boys being dumb

_ Travis was everywhere. On the ice standing up for him, in the bar right by his side, fucking on top of him. Nolan’s dream featured the Sabres ensemble that Travis had charged into valiantly at his expense. Now Nolan wasn’t a damsel in distress by any means, but watching Travis absolutely go full force on four guys with complete reckless abandon, and be decently successful? That look he gave everyone once he was pulled off the guys? Well. Did anyone else think it was getting warm in here? Dream Travis had those lethal eyes, that then settled on him, drowning Nolan in their intensity before softening as he gave Nolan a smile. _

_ “Don’t worry Patty. I gotcha.” The sentiment came out hard, like a warning to all opponents that were nearby to hear it. The words echoed around the arena and slowly got softer. Slightly desperate. As dream Travis skated over to Nolan, who didn’t have a ref in the way this time, he brought Nolan’s head down, their helmets were gone, and the two had their foreheads pressed together. _

_ “You’re so strong Patty” Suddenly they were in the bar, with Nolan holding Travis - who was clad in only a towel - up just like the night before. Except instead of Nolan just standing there as Travis clung to him, Nolan had his hands firmly under Travis’ thighs, their bodies flush from abdomen to chest, foreheads still pressed together. _

_ “You’re not gonna leave me too, are you?” Travis sounded so earnest Nolan could only furiously shake his head. _

_ “No Teeks, I gotcha.” Travis smiled. _

_ “You treat me so good Patty. You’re so good to me,  _ _ for _ _ me.” Nolan watched in slow motion as Travis slowly started to close the gap between their lips. _

Nolan’s phone started ringing. He almost physically jumped out of bed. He was sweaty and panting.  _ Holy shit what was that.  _ Afraid of every other time he woke up in that state, he slowly pulled up the covers to check himself out and breathed a sigh of relief.  _ Thank god I’m not hard for Travis, jesus christ _ . He wondered if it wasn’t a wet dream what exactly it was, until he remembered his phone.

He checked his ringing phone and his breath caught in his throat when he saw it was an incoming facetime from Travis.  _ Oh my god he knows. _ He wanted to ignore it, but knew that unlike regular phone calls, facetime just harasses you until you answer. He took a deep breath and swiped to accept the call and just groaned as loudly as he could, not sure if he could trust his voice.

“Patty I’m not gonna make it, go on without me” Travis croaked out. He sounded like shit, but his voice made Nolan flush, his dream replaying itself non-stop in his head. 

_ Were we about to kiss? _

Realizing he hadn’t responded to Travis, who looked just as bad as he sounded, he let out a grumpy “If you’re gonna die at least hang up and let me go back to sleep.” Nolan grunted. He was trying to look at real life Travis and parse out what dream Travis was up to at the same time, and it was too much for his brain at the moment. He needed coffee. Or to go back to sleep.

_ No! No. You don’t need to sleep any more. Just get up. _ Nolan got out of bed, stretching and groaning as his body protested.

“Pat. Pat. Pat.” Nolan tuned back in to hear Travis just. Repeating his name.

“ _ What _ Trav” Nolan grumbled, rummaging around his room for some clean clothing.

“Can you bring me coffee? It always tastes better when  _ you _ get it.” Nolan took the sheets off his bed and put them in the washer.

“No, let’s just get it on our way to skate it’s fine”

“I won’t surviveeeeee” Travis whined, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Get it yourself then, I’m taking a shower.” Nolan needed to clear his head, and talking to Travis wasn’t going to help that at the moment. He hung up and threw his phone onto the couch in the living room, stripping down and turning on the water as hot as he dared. He wasn’t going to worry about actually getting clean, he wasn’t stupid, they had skate soon. But he wanted to wash off the sweat and have time to just calm himself.

_ Okay. You’re cool. You’re fine. You and Travis have just been a lot more in each other’s space lately, so your brain is probably just thinking about that. It’s fine. So what if dream Travis almost kissed you? That doesn’t necessarily mean you actually want him to kiss you, right? Right. Cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcool. _ Nolan turned off the water and opened the glass door, steam pouring out into the rest of the room.

“You could be a rockstar with that steam entrance and hair combo” Nolan jumped out of his skin. He looked around for his towel before feeling it hit him in the chest. He quickly wrapped it around his waist and pushed his hair back out of his face.

“Thanks” he mumbled, pushing past Travis to get to his bedroom. “When’d you get up here?”

“Patty you sound real grumpy for someone who’s getting free coffee.” Travis handed Nolan a cup and wandered out into the living room, waiting for his friend to finish getting changed. Nolan emerged a few moments later, dressed and ready to go to the rink. Their ride over was normal for the most part, with Nolan a little quieter than usual, but Travis didn’t press it. Sometimes Nolan got in these moods, and all that anyone could do was just wait until he came out of them.

Claude took one look at Nolan and barked out a laugh.

“You get  _ any _ sleep last night kid? You look terrible!” Travis skated closeby behind the two, far enough away to not raise suspicion, but close enough he could hear. Nolan was fiddling with a puck, not really going for shooting it, but just so that he could focus on something other than the mental image of Travis leaning ever closer.

“Well G, turns out that a couple of rounds with you after a game like that put me out like a light, so maybe I just need to be more active.” Travis almost choked. _Two?!_ _I didn’t know it was two. Patty what the fuck! He said it only happened once. Oh my god what if it is a thing and G made Patty keep it a secret..._ Travis bored holes in the back of their captain’s head, watching the way the two easily laughed and joked. _Is he the reason Patty’s so tired today? The reason he’s so quiet?_ _Did he jump in the bathroom because he was expecting someone else? Expecting Claude?_ Travis was slowly becoming irrational the more he watched the two of them. _Was this happening before we were all lineys?_ Their practice was decent but Travis was unfocused. Claude even pulled him aside to ask him if anything was wrong. The nerve.

“C’mon TK, I know Nolan didn’t get any sleep, why are you the one playing like it?” Claude asked, leveling Travis with a confused but expectant stare. Travis just stared back, slightly challenging.

“How do you know he didn’t get any sleep, huh?” Was Travis’ only reply. Claude sighed.

“Listen kid, I’m not the enemy here, alright? I just want to make sure you’re good. Play like you’re asleep too long and Gordo will take you off the like. You and Patty have great chemistry, anyone can see that, but you gotta focus, yeah?” Travis wanted to rage at his captain. Ask him how  _ dare _ he say he isn’t the enemy when he’s abusing the power dynamic between himself and Nolan. How  _ dare _ he threaten to take him off the line. Travis knew what that meant. It meant G  _ knew _ Travis knew, and was going to abuse his power to keep Travis from Nolan. Hate to admit it, his captain was right. He needed to focus if he wanted to stay on Nolan’s line. He  _ liked _ being lineys with Nolan, it felt like it was right. The two could just read one another from all the way down the ice. He just continued to stare at Giroux in silence, watching as his captain waited him out. Wishing G would be the one to back down first, but knowing he wouldn’t, Travis bit out a “Yeah.” before skating away. Giroux watched him go, and turned around to see Nolan a few yards away staring at the right winger, an unreadable expression on his face. Nolan looked almost hesitant, which was something Giroux had never seen from the boy, especially not on the ice.

Whether Travis took G’s talk well or poorly didn’t matter, the kid was playing better after their conversation. It  _ was _ true, what G said about him and Patty. They could find one another anywhere on the ice, one was always like a homing beacon for the other, if the incident with the Sabres was any indication. G had pulled Nolan aside towards the end to give him some pointers on insomnia and sleep anxiety, including a list of physical activities that had been shown to promote restfulness, or some shit. G had told Nolan “If you want someone to do them with, just call”. Nolan gratefully accepted G’s offer, hoping he could get himself to sleep so solidly that he wouldn’t dream at all. Until he forgot about whatever that dream meant, he decided to just act completely, totally normal. Like nothing at all was wrong. Chill. He absolutely Would Not shy away from physical contact At All.

Travis drove them back from the rink, thinking about what to do once they got back to their apartment. He couldn’t just confront Nolan with the fact that he knew the truth. Nolan clearly hadn’t told him for a reason. He needed Nolan to know that their apartment was safe and whatever Giroux was doing couldn’t reach him there. Maybe he’d just do what they normally did. Maybe that’s what Nolan needed the most. He’d order sushi, sit with Nolan on the couch, and they’d play video games and watch stupid movies until it was time to sleep. He hoped Nolan would be relaxed enough to fall asleep tonight, not sure what the problem was the night before but willing to do his part to fix it. They got back and Travis ordered sushi, telling Nolan to get comfortable on the couch. He heard the front door of his apartment close and looked around, seeing Nolan was gone. _What the fuck?_ _Where’d he go? He’s the one who likes sushi anyways._ As Travis was about to facetime him to get his ass back downstairs, Nolan showed up in his boxers and duvet, shuffling over to the couch to sit down. He’d been doing that more lately, not that Travis minded. It was fun to have a mini blanket fort on the couch, even if it’s just two bros chillin in blanket burritos. He went into his room to strip down into his own boxers and grab his blankets, joining his best friend on the couch. Nolan’s mood from earlier seemed to have evaporated, he was relaxed and laughing and Travis lived for it. Nolan didn’t laugh often, so whenever Travis got him to he treasured it. Before he knew it, there was a knock on the door signaling their food had arrived. Nolan had gotten up to get it, throwing his duvet cover onto the floor and leaving his phone on the table in his haste to get to their food. He thanked the delivery driver, gave him a healthy tip, and wandered into the kitchen to get them drinks. His phone lit up. Normally Travis ignored that stuff, but he saw the sender.

_ G Baby: Let me know if you can’t sleep tonight kid. I’ll help you out _ . _ Want you to be good for tomorrow. _

Travis stared. Nolan plopped back onto the couch, slightly closer to Travis than he was before, and laid out all their sushi on the table. He grabbed his phone, rolled his eyes, typed out a quick response and threw it back on the table. Travis saw what it was.

_ Whatever you say, mon capitan _ .

Travis scooted closer to Nolan.  _ Gonna fucking use him before AND after games now G? I’ll cock block you until retirement _ .

Nolan moved his left arm up over the back of the couch, getting it out of the way of his dominant arm so he could more easily pivot to all of his dining options.  _ Leave it to G to be fucking extra _ Nolan thought with amusement. They always ordered the same things, a few platters for themselves and one or two to share. The shared ones went in the middle and they’d fight over them at the end, usually. Travis inhaled his sushi, trying to get all the better picks from the shared plates. He’d take from Nolan’s side, hoping that he could then defend his own side enough to get more of it. It almost never worked, Nolan’s arms were too fucking long. While Nolan was  _ appreciating his sushi _ or whatever, Travis discarded his blankets and scarfed down all of his, and reached over onto Nolan’s section of the shared platters. He had just grabbed ahold of a california roll when he was immediately pulled backwards, forcing the food out of his grasp. Nolan had brought down his left arm over Travis’ shoulder and around his chest, locking him against his own.  He gripped the winger’s right bicep to try and steer him towards his own side as he frantically tried to pick up sushi with his right arm.

“You always do this! Eat off your own side!” Travis squirmed in his grasp, knowing Nolan couldn’t hold him down and eat at the same time.

“Yours looks better! Come on just one!”

“You always say just one! And then you eat all of them!” One would get a piece, and the other would squirm to knock it out of their hand and send it flying. After several minutes, the two middle platters had been scattered all over the apartment, the two boys panting with the exertion of fending one another off. Travis slouched in his place pressed against Nolan’s chest, and Nolan relaxed against the back of the couch, eyelids drooping. Then he saw it. At the edge of the table, a single piece of sushi remained. He tried to move his arm slowly, but as he reached for it he slid down the couch until he was laying on his back. The shift alerted Travis, who turned over, now hovering over Nolan, and followed his arm until he saw what he was reaching for. Travis reached out lightning quick, falling and landing chest to chest with Nolan, but he had gotten his prize. He was holding the last piece. He sat up, straddling Nolan’s hips and cheered in victory. He looked down at his friend, hair mussed and cheeks red from their wrestle earlier. Nolan was just staring at Travis.  _ I wonder if this is how he looked when-STOP right there don’t think about it _ . Travis cut off his own train of thought by shoving the fish in his mouth and giving Nolan a devilish smile. Nolan swallowed. Travis ignored it, but did shift back so instead of straddling Nolan’s waist he was sitting on his thighs.

“Whatever, get off” Nolan grumbled, shoving Travis off enough that he could sit up and move back to his original spot on the couch. He stared at the empty platter and stood up, grabbing his duvet.

“I’m...gonna go to bed.” Nolan said awkwardly as he made his exit. Travis nodded, for once glad Nolan was leaving so he could parse out what his brain was doing.  _ That was a lot. _

“Yeah. Yeah see you tomorrow.” He tried to put a positive spin on the awkward end of the night. For one, he was confident he had gotten Nolan’s mind off of Claude, even if it was rather extreme. AND he had even gotten Nolan to be active, so he wouldn’t  _ need _ Claude to come “tire him out”. Travis was an excellent best friend, thank you very much, and was so far succeeding in  _ not _ thinking about what his best friend may or may not have looked like during sex, thank you very much.

Nolan ran up the stairs to his apartment and slammed the door behind him. All he could think about was Travis straddling him.  _ Chill out dude it’s fine it’s cool just two totally normal bros wrestling in their boxers everything is cool _ .

As Nolan laid in bed and thought about the mental image of Travis hovering over him, knew he probably wouldn’t sleep super well that night. He also knew for sure he was  _ not _ calling his captain about it. Some things, people just didn’t need to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why are you so upset with G all the time Travis?   
> Do you know what personal space is, Travis?   
> How long have you been referring to YOUR OWN apartment as an apartment you share with Nolan, Travis?


	7. Plane and Simple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nolan and Travis take a tiny step forwards in what may be considered not-so-platonic-friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short because I didn't watch the CBJ game so I don't have the details to write it up sorryyyy but I didn't have any more that didn't feel forced and if I put it with the next chapter it'd be too long! Enjoy some fools on a plane!

“ _ You gonna go home with G, Patty, or are you gonna come home with me?” They were in the locker room, Travis wrapped in Nolan’s lap, his lips pressed tight to Nolan’s ear. Nolan couldn’t even see G, or anyone for that matter, anywhere. It was just the two of them. Nolan looked down and saw Travis wasn’t wearing a shirt. As soon as he realized that, his disappeared. _

_“I’m gonna go home with you, come on man”_ _his words from the other night came back out of his mouth. They walked out of the locker room and into Travis’ apartment. They were on the couch with Travis over Nolan, staring down at him, hands on his chest._

_ “You look so good like this Patty”  _

Nolan woke up to covers being yanked off his body. His eyes snapped open and he saw Travis standing over him, talking at him.

“Pat, dude, we’re gonna be late! Get up!” Nolan just kept staring at him.  _ How far would these dreams go if Travis didn’t wake me up? _ He decided he did  _ not _ want to know, so he took the annoying wake-up calls. Nolan was half-hard in his boxers, so he snatched his covers back from Travis and pulled them back up to his chest before he sat up.  _ Think about calling your grandma think about calling your grandma think about calling your grandma _ .

“We’re not gonna be late bro, chill, I packed last night. I just need to get dressed.” Travis looked surprised.

“ _ You _ packed last night? Wow Patty, I’m impressed.” Nolan had packed last night, in a futile effort to  _ not _ think about being practically naked pinned under his best friend. It worked in those few minutes, and clearly was paying off now since he didn’t  _ have _ to spring out of bed and rush to pack everything. Huh. Maybe he should pack ahead of time more often.  _ Nah _ . Travis shot him a warm smile and handed him a cup of coffee, yelling that he’d be in the kitchen. Nolan sighed and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. He grabbed his suit out of his closet and put it on, sipping on his coffee.  _ Chill out dude. It’s just Travis. No big deal. Just stop eating weird shit before bed. _ Nolan emerged from his room, bag slung over his shoulder, to wolf whistles from Travis.

“Oh my god stop” Nolan deadpanned as he shoved Travis out of the apartment first, turning up the collar of his coat to hide his rapidly reddening cheeks.

They boarded the plane. Travis had gotten on first but Nolan was right behind him. Travis picked a row and put his stuff up top. There was a singular moment where the two of them looked at the window seat, and then back at one another. They scrambled, both trying to cram into the row in front of one another to reach the window seat.

“Just let me have the seat”

“ _ You? _   You  _ always _ get it!”

“In what fucking world dude?”

“This one! The one we live in! The one where you always get the window seat!”

“That’s fucking bullshit and you know it”

“ _ Boys _ ” Nolan and Travis looked up to see Claude standing there, eyebrow raised, an unimpressed look on his face. Nolan’s back was shoved up against the back of the seats, wedged in place by Travis’ shoulder. Both had arms extended reaching for the armrest to pull themselves across and out of the aisle, while their other arm was on the other’s shoulder, trying to push him out of the row. They started talking at the same time.

“G tell him I never-”

“G he  _ always _ -”

“I just want-”

“I picked the row and-”

“He always gets up to pee so-”

“ _ Stop _ ”. The two boys went silent yet again, looking at their captain, who looked entirely like it was  _ too early for this shit _ .

“If you sit in different rows, you can  _ both _ have the window seat” Claude had said. Nolan and Travis looked at him, completely dumbfounded.

“Why would we do that.” Claude almost just punched himself in the face to end it there. Nolan took advantage of Travis’ question to Claude to shove himself the rest of the way into the row, planting himself firmly in the seat and grinning. Travis whined and moved to try and wrestle Nolan up out of the seat, but Claude leveled him with a glare. Travis grumbled and sat down in the aisle seat. Nolan smiled at him and looked up to the captain.

“Thanks G” Travis’ head shot up as he looked between the two and sputtered.

“Whatever, kid. Save it for Columbus.” G had just looked at him with a blank stare before walking off to his own seat.

“ _ Did you plan this? _ ” Travis accused. Nolan looked at him with an over the top innocent expression before smiling at him and handing him one of his earbuds. Travis grumbled and took it, putting it in his right ear so he wouldn’t have to hear the chatter from the aisle. Nolan hit play on his playlist as the plane took off, the two of them hunched over one of their phones looking at dumb internet memes. In the midst of Travis going to show one to Nolan, he saw that his friend had nodded off. Travis put his phone down and went to grab his neck pillow, only to find he forgot to pack it.  _ Damn it, I can’t sleep without that stupid thing _ . He looked over under Nolan’s seat to see if maybe it had just fallen into his area during their seating scuffle, and realized his eye level was the same as Nolan’s shoulder level. He stared for a moment. Thought about it.  _ Would it be weird if I slept on his shoulder? _ Thinking back to the previous few days, which heavily featured the two of them practically - and sometimes literally - on top of one another, Travis decided it would  _ not _ be the weirdest thing he’d ever done with Nolan. He shifted over and placed his head down on Nolan’s shoulder, holding his breath.  _ It’s not my neck pillow, but this is fine. It’s...nice. _ He let out a slow breath and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take him.

Travis woke up as someone brushed past him in the aisle. He couldn’t move his head. Panicking for a moment  _ what’s happening to me _ he looked down, and saw he was still settled on his friend’s shoulder. He swept his eyes up and saw a lot of hair.  _ Figures he’d crush me with his stupid gigantic head _ . Travis saw some of his teammates beginning to pack up their stuff and figured out that they’d probably be landing soon. He reached his right arm up over his head and just poked around at whatever he could reach of his friend. He felt Nolan’s shoulder move under his head as a deep rumble came from the man next to him.

“Teeks if you wake me up one more fucking time I’m going to kill you.” Travis, knowing that he would get this response every day for the rest of his life, was not to be deterred.

“Pat we’re gonna land soon you gotta get up”

“Fuck you I’m finally comfortable”. Travis smirked at that and moved his head a little bit, causing Nolan to groan.   
“I’m glad you find me so comfy bud, but we still have to get up” Nolan kept grumbling, but Travis, who had become fluent in the language long ago, understood him perfectly.

“What the fuck are you talking ab-oh. Sorry Teeks.” Travis chuckled as Nolan picked his head up, slowly moving his own side to side to stretch his neck out.

“Don’t worry dude, if it’s consolation you’re pretty comfy yourself”

“Shut up”

The game itself was fine. They lost in OT, but at least they got to take a point away with them. Early in the first period, Travis got awkwardly checked into the boards, and he was  _ fine,  _ okay, he really was, but by the time he had righted himself and looked around,  _ Nolan _ was going after the guy who did it. Travis softened a little at that. Nolan skated by him, his expression unreadable, but gave him a firm nod.

“I got you”. Travis grinned at Nolan’s firm statement and nodded back, skating away. Nolan just  _ didn’t like it _ when other players shoved his friend around, it rubbed him the wrong way, okay? Travis wasn’t a big guy. They want to deal with a big guy? Well, fine, they’ll have to deal with him. Travis saw G with a look that wasn’t quite pure shock, but was definitely surprise. Everyone knew Patty wasn’t the most physical guy on the team, but that he would go after somebody for Travis...well, Travis was moved. He knew they were best friends but seeing his friend  _ initiate _ physicality for him meant a lot. Nolan had gotten hit again, Travis was ready to fight whatever god decided to put a target on the guy’s back. He had to watch Nolan make his way back to the bench very slowly as he tried to quell his temper. He managed to keep the lid on it for the game, but he wasn’t happy about it.

They got back on the plane after the game flying off to their next matchup against the Devils, and Nolan gave Travis the window seat.

“Aww, Pats, you  _ do _ like me!”

“Shut up”. Travis smiled and moved to put his head back on Nolan’s shoulder, planning to get a quick nap in before the plane landed again.

“What are you doing”

“Shut up dude you’re comfy and I’m trying to sleep”

“You’re so annoying”. Travis fell asleep not long after that, a smile on his face. Nolan stared at the top of his head for a long moment before hesitantly leaning his own head down on it. Loathe to admit, they  _ were _ the perfect height for this. Nolan didn’t have to awkwardly crane his neck, and Travis fit exactly where he was.  _ I guess this is okay _ . Nolan thought to himself. Hell, they’d need all the rest they could get before they faced the fucking Devils. He opened up his phone and shot a text to Nico. He knew they weren’t friends on the ice, but he enjoyed hanging out with him outside the rink, and they usually would meet up after their teams were finished on the ice. Hell, maybe hanging out with Nico would make everything feel more normal than it had over the past few days. Nolan liked Nico, and hoped hanging out with someone who wasn’t Travis would get these weird thoughts out of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "why would we do that" I don't know what siblings fighting is like but I try my best with these two I hope it comes out right. Claude is too old for this nonsense but also knows that these boys are dumbasses so I guess it's fine.  
> Also Nolan having dreams but being a dumbass and not understanding where they come from is peak teenage boy.


	8. Dealing with Devils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is literally just the devils flyers game because that whole thing was a lottttttt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really just the devils game since that entire game spoke for itself, but with some added thoughts and commentary!

Travis swears they had just started this fucking game. He was down closer to the neutral zone, Patty was up farther on the boards battling it out for the puck with McLeod when he tripped McLeod up on his stick. McLeod fell against the boards, Nolan moving back just enough to give him space while still digging for the puck. Travis saw Nolan get down low, back to the rest of the ice, as he dug for it. Gabriel was encroaching, and then he  **crashed** into Nolan, crunching him  **head first** into the boards. Travis saw red as he watched Nolan crumple to the ground.  _ How  _ **_dare_ ** _ you even fucking  _ **_touch him_ ** . He saw Hagg push Gabriel into the boards.  _ Not fucking good enough Hagger. _ Travis let out a roar as he took off towards Gabriel.

“YOU WANNA PLAY DIRTY BUD? I’LL FUCKIN SHOW YOU DIRTY”. He launched himself over Nolan, making sure he didn’t make contact with his friend who was very concerningly still down on the ice, and grabbed the devil from behind, pulling him into a back tackle and hanging off of him. Travis used his full body weight and all his momentum to slam Gabriel down onto the ground. He was under Gabriel, hitting and grabbing wherever he could, snarling out threats the whole time. He saw their guys and his guys rush to the pileup. A linesmen got on top of Gabriel, with another one trying to separate the two.  _ Don’t do it fuckers I’m not finished yet _ .

“Fuckin touch him again and I’ll make your face even uglier buddy” Travis threatened, looking up at Nolan’s attacker with a glare that could cut through steel. He tried to pull away and rush the guy again but the linesmen held him back. The refs had pulled everyone away and one of the trainers came out onto the ice.

“You could’ve fucking killed him you fucking psycho!” Travis was still shouting after Gabriel, who was being led away from the scrum.

Nolan got up onto his knees as he felt the commotion subside. He was right next to Travis, who was flat on his back still spitting insults. Travis hadn’t noticed Nolan was upright yet. The linesmen was beginning to help Travis up.

“Teeks...you okay?” Nolan asked, looking over to his best friend. Gabriel was big, and Travis had pulled the dude down on top of him. He had heard everything Travis had said, all of his threats, and he flushed. He tried to assure Travis that he was good, but Travis was a bomb that had already gone off.  _ He has to be okay _ Nolan and Travis both thought about the other. Travis whipped his head around at Nolan’s voice, his eyes were hard when they met his, but softened when they made eye contact. He shot Nolan a tiny smile.

“I got you.” Travis said, like a threat glaring back at Gabriel. Nolan was brought instantly back to the dream he had the other night, though this time Travis’ words didn’t echo around the arena, just inside his own head. He knew what it meant. It was an  _ I’m here. I’m glad you’re okay. _ And  _ Fuck that guy, right?  _ All in one. The trainer was standing over Nolan, leaning down towards him and asking him routine questions, can you stand, can you skate, we need to get you to concussion protocol. Nolan stood up and skated off the ice slowly. He made his way to the training room as Gabriel made his way to the box.

Travis wanted to scream as he watched Nolan skate off the ice and go right into the tunnel.  _ At least he can skate by himself, that’s a good sign _ . Travis saw that there was no misconduct called. Just a five minute major. Gabriel was in the box for 5 minutes.

“Should be serving longer than that you fucking goon”. Travis was keyed up. He had a short fuse to begin with but whenever anybody got near Patty that fuse just completely disintegrated. Now that he might have a concussion? Well, whatever fuse Travis had left was gone.  _ They wanna fuckin play we’ll fuckin play _ .

He managed to stick it out without much incident until later in the period. Nolan had yet to come back and he was about to snap. If Patty didn’t clear protocol… _ Gabriel if he doesn’t clear protocol because of your useless ass I’ll fucking kill you _ .

He had his own board battle, tangled up with another  _ fucking devil _ , who hit him up high with their stick, knocking him hard in the mouth.  _ Are they gonna fucking call that or not _ Travis thought as he got over to the bench. There was no whistle. Travis screamed and threw his helmet down onto the ground, punching the boards. He sat back down, seething quietly, not even seeing the game in front of him.  **FUCK** his teeth hurt. He checked them, trying to wiggle them a bit with his fingers,  _ if you fuckers made me lose a tooth... _ He was feeling far less relief than he should have when he discovered they were all still there. 

Nolan, just finishing up clearing protocol, stopped at the edge of the room when he saw Travis get hit in the mouth on the monitor showing the broadcast. He watched, anger building quickly.  _ You’ve already got him pinned against the boards dude fuck off, get off him _ . He complained about the linesmen, asking why the fucking refs didn’t just wear devils uniforms already. He saw Travis have to leave the ice and just fucking lose it.  _ Shit _ . Nolan thought, watching Travis throw his helmet and punch the boards. All Nolan could do was stare, in awe again of the absolutely untameable force of nature that was his best friend Travis Konecny. Hair in his face, eyes staring forward with nothing but absolutely clear anger in them, Nolan was...glad he had known he cleared protocol, because his brain felt like it was having trouble sorting out how to respond with what he was seeing. First it was  _ fuck that guy _ about the missed call, then  _ fuck  _ **_that_ ** _ guy _ about the action, and then seeing Travis’ response was just... _ fuck _ . Nolan took a minute to gather himself, before resolving that he was gonna get these fucking devils back, and going back down the tunnel to the bench. The smile Travis sent Nolan upon seeing him come out and give a nod was nothing short of blinding. Nolan couldn’t help himself. He smiled back.

They were tied, which was annoying, but right now somehow more importantly they had managed to avoid any major altercations so far in the period. Travis saw there was less than a minute left. He sped towards the goal, puck on his stick before he tapped it. It hit the edge of Schneider’s blockers and rebounded right in front of the net. Butcher and his teammates scrambled after it but with Schneider’s movement Rooney slid to stop, and they all ended up helping to slide it in. Travis watched from the back of the net with glee as he threw his hands up in the air. He spun around so he could see Nolan. His friend was grinning too. Nolan was on him in a second, hands raised and shouting as the two embraced behind the net, laughing and chirping at the devils. They spun in a slow circle. Travis’ head was kind of crushed into Nolan’s chest, but neither of them minded.  _ This is how it’s supposed to be baby!  _  they both thought as they slowly turned to face their fast approaching teammates, breaking out of their hug to greet the new arrivals. Whether the two of them meant that thought about their recent lead, or one another, or maybe even a little of both, they weren’t sure. But they were together, and they were winning, and they were happy, so  _ who cared _ ?

On the bench, they sat and watched it replay over and over. Nolan was transfixed, watching the devils scramble and the puck go in. Travis had managed to help tip it in despite barely having control, it was impressive. The two were just sitting side by side chatting idly about it, but while Nolan’s gaze was fixed forwards onto the ice or up at the scoreboard, Travis couldn’t help but keep glancing at him. Nolan was always so...focused when it came to hockey. Sitting here watching Nolan watch the game Travis couldn’t help but think  _ I’d fight the fucking world for you dude _ . The thought itself didn’t shock him. The ferocity didn’t either. It was just something that he realized in his heart was absolutely true. He had Nolan’s back, and Nolan had his. They finished out the period in the lead and meandered their way into the locker room, G stopping Patty to make sure he was good. Travis sat in his stall and watched the two talk, residual anger from their first period thrumming hot under his skin. He was pretty sure if anyone saw him glare like this at their captain there’d be serious consequences.  _ Leave Patty alone he’s fine, christ. Mind your own business I’ve got him _ . His glare dropped when he saw Nolan give G a nod and turn to come back to Travis. Well, their stalls. Whatever, Travis knew it was basically the same thing.

Their third period started without much fuss. They had grew their lead, with Coots scoring within the first minute. They were getting close to 10 minutes left, and Provy had just deflected Sanny’s shot into the net, giving them a 5-2 lead. Nolan smirked as he skated around.  _ That’s right you suck _ he thought at the devils. The next faceoff brought the puck down into their defensive zone, and Nolan went over behind the net to claim possession of the puck. Who did he run into but Gabriel.  _ Payback time buddy _ Nolan thought as he passed the puck up to Provy, spinning and taking off after him. Gabriel moved forwards, with Nolan out of his line of sight.  _ Big mistake bud. _ Nolan skated up right to his side and threw his shoulder into him, tilting up to knock him off his feet. He skated away, tripping up slightly, but continuing onwards. His shift was over, he was going to the bench.  

Gabriel got up and raced down to his defensive zone and latched onto the first Flyer he could see. Scott Laughton. He grabbed the Flyer’s helmet and ripped it off his head, discarding it onto the ice below. Laughton didn’t do anything, just tried to get out of Gabriel’s backwards grasp as the linesmen jumped in the middle, pulling Laughton away. The refs took Gabriel to the penalty box immediately. He was fuming when he saw Patrick was on the bench and not in the box. Travis saw him attack Laughts and rolled his eyes. He skated down to the penalty box after Gabriel. “Ya fuckin goon! Karma’s a fuckin’ bitch, eh?” He chirped at him, being kept away by the linesmen. Travis looked over to Nolan on the bench and saw his tiny smile.  _ Atta boy Patty _ he thought to himself. He watched Gabriel skate off down the tunnel.  _ Your turn for protocol, you fucker _ . Well, it turns out that on their next shift, Severson had decided that Nolan hadn’t been through enough that night. Travis doesn’t even remember where he was on the ice, just remembers turning and seeing Nolan in the corner with Severson, who had grabbed him from behind, trying to push him off. Travis charged without a moment’s hesitation. His skin had been itching since Gabriel’s first dirty hit on Nolan early on in the game, and he had reached his limit on people coming after his best friend. Nolan had twisten in the devil’s grip and knocked him away.

“I told you fucks that nobody  **fucking** touches him”. Travis checked into him hard, hitting him square in the back and skating over to Nolan’s side.Severson lunged for him next, being unsuccessful as Nolan jumped between them. Travis got slammed into the boards by Vatanen.

“Hey!” He heard Nolan shout, and  _ holy shit _ , he hadn’t ever heard Nolan so angry before. He saw Nolan reach over to Vatanen and try and pull the guy off of him,  _ while _ he was still dealing with Severson. He tried to move closer to Travis but had to keep ducking from Severson’s array of missing punches. Travis himself was happy to fight Vatanen, since the fucker had decided to jump him for no reason. Of course, the linesmen came and separated the four of them, sending them all to the box. Travis knew in the old days there was only one penalty box that both teams would share. He wished nothing more than for that to be the case right now. He was almost shaking he was so angry. Travis got to the box first, the whole way there he and the devils were shouting back and forth. Travis wanted  _ blood _ god damnit, they didn’t even do anything and everyone just kept coming after Nolan. He saw Nolan come in and take a seat, removing his helmet.  _ At least they can’t get him in here _ . _ This is bullshit, we were defending ourselves _ .

“I’ll fuck you up! I’ll do it any time! Any time!”

“Yeah? When’s that gonna be bud?”

“Whenever you want!” Travis shouted, gesturing out onto the ice. He  _ hated  _ these guys. Not as much as he hated the pens as a team, but he hated these individuals for  **daring** to touch Nolan. Nolan, of course, didn’t react to any of Travis’ outbursts, trying to end the fight and also being used to them at this point. Until one of those  _ fuckers _ said something he couldn’t ignore.

“You couldn’t even fuckin reach me if you wanted to you pint sized fuck” Nolan snapped his head over to the opposing penalty box.

“Shut the fuck up” Nolan grit out as Travis continued on his tirade behind him. The devils just kept fucking talking. So, since they were talking shit about  _ Travis _ , and that was  **not allowed** in Nolan’s book, he kept firing back. “Your aim is trash bud, you got no hits on me and no goals on us, so shut the fuck up”. He looked over to Travis, and saw he had settled down beside him. Travis patted Nolan’s knee.

“Sorry you’re in here with me Patty. I’ve been trying to keep you  _ out _ of trouble”. Travis rolled his eyes, still clearly very angry with the devils but knowing that they were beating them where it counted: the scoreboard. He reached up to Nolan’s head, gently ruffling his hair.

“Your head still good Pat? He didn’t getcha did he?” Nolan flushed and shook his head, affirming that no, he was not hit, and yes, he was alright. He shrugged.

“At least we’re in here for standing up for each other, and not for jumping random players…” Nolan grumbled out, giving slight side-eye to the devils next door. _At least we’re together._ _At least you’re okay._ they both thought.

Out of the box Travis scored an empty net goal to bring them a crushing 6-2 victory over the devils. Nolan had to admit the victory felt sweeter than most, especially when the devils played so fucking dirty.  _ Fucking Vatanen charging TK like that, fuck him that was bullshit. _ Nolan was asked about Gabriel post-game. He knew he would be. He kept his answer short, but definitely threw some shade. They loved it. As he was getting dressed he heard Travis’ interview. Travis knew they’d ask about him defending Nolan. He decided to answer honestly.

“Patty’s one of my good buddies, so I’m gonna stick up for him every time...you know...someone’s messing with him”.

Nolan had checked his phone and saw he got a text from Nico asking if they were going to meet up after the game. Deciding he’d answer it on the plane, Nolan left his phone in his stall and went to take a shower. Travis came over to finish getting undressed and saw the open thread, feeling anger and something else ugly twist in his gut. Nolan had texted him about how it had been too long since they’d seen one another. Nico responded with the stupid blushy smiley emoji. _Whatever_. Travis thought, seeing Nico’s followups being “I can’t want to see you!” and “Hey where should we meet?” The most recent one was from a few minutes ago. Travis got angry at Nico. _Fucking Hisch. Fucking A of his own fucking team and he can’t even fucking get his fucking players to fucking control themselves. Fucker._ _He doesn’t deserve to hang out with Patty. Fucking leaving him hanging out to dry while his own fucking team fucking attacked him. Fuck that_. Travis was a little surprised at how angry how quickly he got at Nico Hischier. Nico was one of Nolan’s friends. He knew Travis, they got along fine. Sometimes Travis was jealous that Nico knew someone as wonderful as Nolan first, but he could usually brush that off. Travis guessed he just was extra riled up about people around Nolan since he’d been so clearly targeted the past few games. He felt a bit better knowing they’d be getting right on the plane to new york, and knowing that Nico would essentially be punished with a lack of Nolan for the crime of not looking out for him. _I know we’re not on the same team but jesus dude. Those hits were dangerous you gotta set a standard_. Travis wandered into the locker room shower, dancing out his excess anger and energy as he soaped up, he and Nolan squirting one another every so often. When they got on the plane Nolan had tipped his head towards the window away from Travis. Travis was slightly confused before he heard Nolan’s gruff voice.

“Come on then, hurry up and get comfy. I’m tired.” Travis grinned and pressed against his friend’s side, leaning his head down against his shoulder and letting out a sigh as Nolan immediately placed his head on top of Travis’. He didn’t know when this became their regular, but Travis liked that Nolan knew what he liked and needed and didn’t seem too bothered by it.

“You’re a good guy Patty.” Travis said, his voice soft. He didn’t realise it, but he was tired too.

“Neeks wanted to hang out after the game” Nolan had said out of nowhere. Travis didn’t sit up, and didn’t tense up, just waited. He heard Nolan get a slight edge to his voice, which again surprised Travis. His friend usually had a pretty high bullshit tolerance, hell, Nolan put up with Travis all the goddamn time!.

“He wanted to hang out, and I was looking forward to it, but after that shit I’m glad we’re on the plane. Even if we weren’t, that game was ugly I don’t want to see the face of a devil again for the rest of the season.” Travis let him go, listening quietly. Sometimes Nolan needed to grumble out his frustrations.

“I mean come on man, Vatanen had  _ no _ business fucking charging you that was bullshit.” Travis again was touched, reminded at how ferociously a non-physical guy like Nolan had tried to defend him. Travis patted Nolan’s knee again, a small comfort to his friend and acknowledgement that he was okay. He left it there. The two fell asleep easily, tired from having to fight that whole game on multiple fronts.

When they landed, they went straight up to their room and both stripped down to their boxers, jumping immediately in their beds. Nolan was out before Travis even turned off the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're so gone for one another it's absurd.


	9. Trial on the Isle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the Islanders game, Nolan takes a slapshot to the head early in the first period. Travis helps him skate off the ice, and then has to play a whole game before he can even check up on his best buddy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nolan and Travis have blessed us with a whole lot of shipping content in the past few games, so a lot of these have written themselves. We don't have specifics on Nolan's injury or recovery time or anything so I just guessed!

They had no practice on Saturday, so Nolan and Travis stayed in the hotel for a lot of it. They slept in, which was novel. Nolan didn’t have any dreams, he assumed he was just too tired to.  They had ventured out to explore the city some. They had a great time seeing the sights, with little harassment since they went unrecognized. They bumped into one another casually as they wandered around, taking stupid pictures and ugly selfies to send to their teammates as they had a day out on the town. Travis tried to tamp down the ugly possessive protective feeling that rose up when Nolan took a picture of a pigeon and sent it to G, saying “out with Reemer!”. Nolan could talk to whoever he wanted, obviously, but why not send that to the whole team? They all knew the joke. Whatever. They almost stayed into the late afternoon, but with Nolan getting carded anywhere they went to try and grab a drink, and the two still being tired from the last few games, they settled on getting takeout and going back to their room. Nolan sat down at the head of his bed, opening their takeout containers as Travis crashed face first down onto the foot of his bed. Nolan nudged him with his foot. Travis groaned.

“If you don’t sit up I’m gonna eat all of it” Nolan teased. Travis rolled over immediately, reaching for his food before Nolan made good on his threat. Nolan was slightly nervous about the road trip due to his increased recent dreaming activity. Last night the game had both of them dead asleep, but tonight there was no guarantee. The star of his recent dreams was going to be asleep five feet away, Nolan couldn’t afford to be having any more dreams about him. _What if I talk in my sleep and say his name oh god I don’t even know why I’m having these dumbass dreams much less have the ability to explain it to him._ _Ugh this is so stupid I don’t even know why I’m having these weird ass dreams anyway, it’s just Travis._ Travis, of course, chose that moment to get too excited about his spaghetti and wolf down entirely too much of it at once, prompting him to choke on it as a large wad of pasta hung halfway out of his mouth. Nolan gave him a hard clap on the back and Travis spat out the entire fucking plate of pasta back into its container.

“You’re disgusting” Nolan deadpanned, leaning back against the headboard and taking much smaller, more manageable bites of his dinner. Neither of them could pinpoint exactly when, but throughout the season they had started having fewer and fewer teammates in and out of their hotel room. They used to see everybody, but these days everyone was teasing them about making themselves scarce once they all checked into the hotel. They were fine with it, to be honest. They enjoyed one another’s company, and it kept everything feeling normal with how they usually lived in Philly, except on the road they were in the same room not just the same building. It didn’t feel any different, and they didn’t really notice the absence of their teammates. Besides, anyone could come in at any time, they all knew that. They took turns showering and then set up in their beds, a shitty old movie on serving as a background for their laughter. Travis fell asleep before Nolan did. As Nolan turned out the light and settled in, he listened to his friend’s breathing, feeling calmed by his friend’s presence. His steady breathing allowed Nolan to relax and fall asleep quickly. Nolan’s only dream that night was about a goat on the statue of liberty.

 

The puck was in their defensive zone. Their team was doing a decent job at keeping out out of the Islanders possession. Nolan had leaned out to try and take away one of the passing lanes, when he fell onto the ice. The puck made it to Clutterbuck who fired a slapshot as Nolan fell. The puck hit him in the back of the head. Time stopped for Travis.

“ **PAT!** ” He screamed, rushing over from closer to the neutral zone. Nolan Patrick wasn’t moving. Travis wanted to be angry at Clutterbuck, but he knew it was an accident. He raised his hand and once again, a trainer came out onto the ice. Travis stood over his friend, trying to keep himself calm. Nolan would be _fine_. He was always fine. He’d look up at Travis any minute and nod at him, or give him a smile, or say “hey, fuck that guy, right?”. But he didn’t. Travis helped Nolan stand up, Jim Morrison, their trainer, had one of Nolan’s arms around his shoulder. Travis was afraid if he touched him too hard he’d break him. He held Nolan up under his elbow, gripping his bicep.

“Patty” He said quietly, afraid of talking too loud, but _needing_ Nolan to hear him, needing him to answer. “Patty, I’m here, I got you, you’re gonna be okay, yeah? You just gotta get checked out real fast first. We gotta get this target off your back man”. Travis tried to joke to stop the tears brimming in his eyes. Nolan could barely skate. He was leaning heavily on Jim. Travis had kept his stick out in front of Nolan, trying to give him something to keep his eyes on to stay balanced. He gestured to the tunnel far before they reached it so Nolan could have plenty of warning. Another trainer came out to meet them, and took Nolan from Travis. Travis didn’t want to let go. The trainers looked at him and slowly peeled Travis’ hand off of Nolan’s bicep. Travis was terrified to let go.

“We got him kid, don’t worry.” was what Jim had said. Travis didn’t hear it, just staring after Nolan as they walked him down the tunnel. Reemer, who had been skating quietly a slight distance away, came over and rested his hand on Travis’ shoulder.

“He’ll be okay TK. They’ll take care of him.” Travis wished he could believe Reemer, but how could he know Nolan was okay if he couldn’t see him? He looked at the bench, everyone looking hard in front, Nolan’s injury giving them resolve to win this quickly. For him. When he got to Claude he saw the man looking right back at him, a sympathetic expression on his face. Travis took a minute to collect himself. Nolan would be okay, because Travis needed him to be. And Travis would go out there and bring the fight to the Islanders, making sure they crushed them in turn. Travis scored not long after. He was a man on a mission, outskating and outmaneuvering and outmuscling the islanders, shooting it up high to land in the net behind the line. _That one’s for you Patty_ he thought, less happy than he probably normally would be. At intermission he was the first one down the tunnel, racing over to the training room to check on his friend. Jim was outside the door, and shook his head at Travis as he came down the hallway.

“I’m sorry Travis, you can’t see him right now, we’re still doing our evaluation.” Travis almost lost it. He paced by the door, looking at it every so often. _They can’t still be doing their evaluation, he’s fine! He has to be!_ On one of his rounds he saw Claude at the end of the hallway, ambling towards the training room. Travis ran up to him

“Can you get in there?” Travis asked, breath rushing out of him. He may not like that Claude was using his captain status to manipulate Nolan, but if he could use it now to see him...Travis would have to live with that. Anything so that he could get some answers.

“Yeah...why?”

“I need you to check on Patty.” Claude gave him a half smirk. Travis wanted to rip it off his face.

“They won’t let you in?”

“ _No_ ” Travis growled, resuming his pacing. He was losing it. “No, they won’t let me in, but they _might_ let you in because you’re the _captain_ or because you two are doing _whatever_ or at least for _one_ of those reasons but they _won’t let me in_ and it’s _not fair_ because **they don’t understand what he means to me** ” Travis himself appeared to be caught off guard at where his stream of consciousness went, slightly shrinking in on himself and staring down at his skates. Claude was silent. Travis stayed quiet, seemingly done his rant save for a quiet “please”. Claude honestly pitied the kid. It was clear he was _very_ attached to Nolan, and watching the guy get knocked down game after game was hard for anybody, let alone someone as close with that guy as Travis. Claude decided not to make any more fun of the boy. He nodded at him and wandered over to Jim.

“Hey, can I see Patsy?” Jim looked hesitant for a minute but then nodded, opening the door and following Claude inside. Travis stood there, staring through the window. Nolan was sitting up, at least, but his head was down. He didn’t see Claude approach. Travis watched Jim put gloves on and throw _far too many bloody rags_ in with the laundry. The other trainers left Nolan alone on the table, clearing away everything else. Travis watched as Claude approached Nolan, standing between his legs and tilting his chin up to look at him. Travis almost ripped the door off its hinges. _He’s hurt don’t_ **_fucking_ ** _touch him Claude_ **_I can’t believe you_ **.

Claude went into the training room and walked up to Nolan slowly. He tilted his chin up, looking into his eyes. They were mostly clear. That was a good sign.

“How you feel kid?” Nolan nodded, told G that he felt good, just that it hurt like a bitch. Claude nodded and listened to the trainers give the run-down, _stitches, needs rest, pain meds, questionable return, no visitors yet_. Claude went out into the hallway greeting a stone cold Travis Konecny.

“He’s okay. Needs to rest up a bit but seems fine. Don’t worry TK” with that, Claude walked back down the hallway. Travis was fuming. He refused to believe Nolan was okay until he saw for himself. Nobody else knew Nolan like Travis did, how were they supposed to know! Medically they might know what brain stuff to look for, but what about what made Nolan...Nolan? What about his personality, his likes, his dislikes? Travis saw Giroux at the end of the hallway, tilting his head down the tunnel. Travis had to pull himself away from Nolan for the second time that night, and it was entirely too much. Travis wasn’t the most productive in the second period. He didn’t have a bad game, but he wasn’t outstanding either. They were absolutely dominating the Islanders though, which made him feel a little bit better. They finished the second period, and before he could make his way to the training room, Giroux corralled him into the locker room with everybody else.

Travis was _very_ ready to hit somebody. _How am I supposed to know Nolan is fine if none of you fuckers will let be_ **_see_ ** _him?_ Late in the third period, he got his chance. Travis was _so sick_ of everyone being a massive dick. Everything from the past few games had built up inside him, and he was a bomb that should have exploded a long time ago. When Eberle hit him in the third, even if it was an accident, Travis decided to collect his pound of flesh. He knew that the puck to Nolan’s head wasn’t from Eberle. He knew it was an accident. But god _damn it_ he wanted revenge anyway. He was in the corner racing to the puck when Eberle crashed into him from behind, hitting him up high by his head with his elbow. **Fuck this guy** Travis had decided, chasing after him and swatted at the Islander’s head. Eberle skated away. _I think the fuck not bud_ Travis thought as he skated after him, finding him just in time for them to cross check one another. They dropped the gloves. Travis was mad it was so even. He couldn’t really reach the guy, he knew if he could’ve it would’ve been better. But he got some good hits in and skated over to the box.

After the game, Travis got to the training room before anybody could stop him. The trainers were gone, and the room was dark. Travis walked as quietly as he could towards the table with the large Nolan-shaped mass on it. Nolan was still. Too still. Not moving on the ice still. As Travis looked him over, he saw something by Nolan’s ear.

“What’s…” Before he could catch himself, or convince himself that _maybe this is weird_ , Travis _so delicately_ moved Nolan’s hair to the side. He had stitches. It made sense, there was a lot of blood in here earlier. But for Nolan to be hurt so bad he needed stitches, it hurt Travis. He didn’t move his hand any more, afraid to disturb his sleeping friend, so he kept it there, gently cradling his friend’s face as he silently contemplated the stitches. His earlier confession to Giroux came back into his mind. **What _do_ you mean to me?** He didn't want to think about it. Instead, he’d just softly tell Nolan about the game. He may have to do it again, but who cares? He was uncomfortable with the silence, and his thoughts, and he wanted to fill it. For Nolan, even though he was resting, to hear him and know he was there.

“We beat the shit out of them for you Pat. I fought a guy. Well. If you can call it that. I couldn’t really reach him. It wasn’t the guy who hit you, but I like to think that guy knows.” Nolan moved a bit in his sleep, making a few quiet disgruntled sounds. Travis shushed him. “Shh Pat. You’re okay, I’m here, I got you.”

_Everything was a little fuzzy. They were on the plane? In their apartment? Either way Nolan had just woken up, and as usual Travis was woven around him. When he moved to get up, Travis had grumbled and held him tight, telling him “not yet patty” and “stay a little longer”. Travis then dislodged his head from between Nolan’s head and shoulder, and lightly kissed his jaw. Nothing sexual, just light, almost routine. “I’m glad you’re feeling better Pat, I’ve been worried about you dude” Travis then moved Nolan’s hair just back behind his ear and kissed there. Why was he kissing there? It didn’t make any sense. Travis just kept running his hands through Nolan’s hair, Nolan leaned into it._

Travis saw Nolan lean into his hand and kept running his fingers through his hair, whispering to his friend.

_Travis was just looking at Nolan, an expression that Nolan felt was familiar but also completely unknown on his face, as he ran his hand through Nolan’s hair. “Teeks?” he asked, hoping maybe Travis would answer Nolan’s unanswered question._

Nolan croaked out a sleepy “Teeks?” Travis kept himself rooted to the spot, afraid to move for fully waking Nolan.

“Yeah Pat, I’m here.” Travis was whispering but it felt like he was screaming.

Nolan woke up because he heard noise, and when he opened his eyes, there was Travis. Travis was looking at him so softly, with a hand in Nolan’s hair, and Nolan completely panicked. _He knows_ . Nolan saw Travis’ eyes widen. _Do I move my hand? No, then it’s obvious it was there. I can’t just keep it there! But if I move it he’ll notice. Oh god he’s staring at me. He knows. **Fuck**. _

“H-how are you feeling?” Travis asked, at a loss of what to do, but also because he needed to know.

“Like shit. I feel worse than you look” Travis chuckled slightly louder than he meant to at Nolan’s wide eyed but still gravelly reply, a big weight off his shoulders that Nolan was, while definitely a little out of it, still himself. Nolan sat up then, looking up at Travis with a strange look on his face. He continued speaking. “Aw, Trav, were you _worried_ about me?” Travis flushed, remembering his confession to their captain in the hall earlier. Never one to lie, he nodded.

“Yeah Pat. I was really worried.” Travis had croaked it out, looking down at his friend. His hand was still tangled in Nolan’s hair. Nolan grabbed Travis and pulled him into a tight hug. From their current position, Travis was taller than Nolan, which left Nolan’s head pressed into Travis’ chest. He hugged his friend tight, holding onto him, tilting his head slightly so his lips pressed on the top of Nolan’s head.

“Stop getting hurt you fucking asshole” Travis grumbled. He heard and felt Nolan laugh, and somehow all the anger and worry and fear he had felt during the entire game was gone. He felt himself relax for the first time since the game started. Nolan just held him there, and Travis just squeezed him tight. He didn’t want to let go. Nolan pulled his head back and looked back up at Travis. The two just stared at one another for a few moments, letting their thoughts zip around their minds. Travis thought about telling Nolan what he had told Claude earlier, but as he opened his mouth Jim came into the training room and turned on the lights. Nolan hissed and slammed his eyes shut. Travis grabbed him and pulled his face back into his chest, looking up and glaring daggers at the trainer.

“Sorry boys” Jim had said, looking shocked at what he stumbled into. “Travis, you should get showered and ready for the flight back home. Nolan, we need to get you up and moving.” Travis didn’t want to leave. _What if he falls?_ Was running through his mind a thousand times. Nolan looked back up at him, opening his eyes slowly, and gave Travis a soft smile. It completely disarmed him.

Both realizing that the two of them were _too close for just bros_ Travis and Nolan sprung apart, each muttering a “shit sorry man” and refusing to meet one another’s eyes. The moment had shattered, and they were both back to being slightly terrified that their best friend had just found them out and _now it’s weird_.

“O-okay well, I’ll go do that. Pat I’ll...see you? Soon? Yeah?” Travis nodded to Jim on his way out, apologizing for what he’s sure was an awkward moment on everyone's part. Nolan jerkily nodded, mumbling a “Yeah sure thing man” even though his eyes were glued to the floor.

Travis got back to the locker room and walked right into the media. Again, he knew they’d ask about Nolan. Again, he was honest.

“It was hard to see him go down like that.” He finished with the press, changed out of his practice gear, and hopped in the shower. For the most part everyone had left him alone, which was a little weird, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t grateful for it after how things had gone in the training room. _That was weird, right? I mean he woke up and my hand was in his hair like he’s some chick? **God he probably thinks I’m a weirdo.** And then I was so fucking awkward about it. Fuck I hope it’s not weird. _ Travis came out of the shower and saw Nolan, changed into his suit sitting in his stall. Travis rushed over to him, on instinct, until his brain caught up and he stopped short a meter or so away. Nolan saw him coming and Travis couldn’t tell if the flush in his cheeks was from _him_ or just because it’s Nolan. Nolan gave him a shy smile and slight nod.

“I’m good. Well, not good-good, we don’t totally know yet but…” Nolan was rambling and _this was definitely awkward_. Travis nodded, his smile too big as he answered probably too loudly.

“That’s great! That’s good Pat!” Nolan appeared to contemplate something for a minute before hesitantly looking at Travis.

“Can you still do my tie?” Nolan asked, his voice never sounded so small or unsure and Travis’ heart _hurt_. _This is fine. Just be **fucking normal** Travis oh my god_. Travis nodded and responded softly with an “Of course Patty” before taking the tie out of his friend’s hand and putting it around his own neck, tying it quickly. They were both being awkward, but both of them thought it was because the _other one_ had found them out on things they weren't entirely sure were happening in the first place.

Across the locker room, Jake and G watched as the two acted, well, awkward. Any time one of them touched the other one for any length of time they’d suddenly pull away and mutter a “sorry bro” “my bad dude”. Jake gestured to them with his head and asked the captain “What’s with them?” And as Giroux looked over, a smile took over his face as he watched them sneak glances at one another and flush when the other one caught them.

“They’re becoming self-aware.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're so stupid I might be losing IQ points the longer I write this. But! Both feel weird so that's a step I suppose


	10. Doctor House is in the...house? Apartment? Whatever.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an awkward interaction in the training room, Travis has to deal with his thoughts AND an injured Nolan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never had a concussion so I hope I do this justice!

Despite both of them being _awkward as fuck_ , Travis still didn’t want to let Nolan out of his sight, or really out of his range of motion. Nolan was **hurt, god damn it** , and Travis was going to watch over him until he was better. Even if it meant awkwardness. He’d rather have an awkward but healthy Nolan than risk any other result. They got on the plane and Travis had a moment of panic. _Do I sit with him? Do I just sit in the seat behind him? Is it weird to not sit with him? Is it weird if I DO sit with him?_ _I’m just gonna act like everything is fine. If I pretend it’s fine it’ll be fine, right?_ Travis wandered over to where Nolan was standing between the rows, looking a little disoriented.

“Pat? You okay?” Travis asked, putting a hand lightly on his low-back.  _ Fuck am I touching him too much? We’re always touchy how do I know? _ Nolan shifted his eyes back and forth, before grumbling out an answer.

“Wasn’t sure which side of the plane to sit on.” Travis nodded. He wanted Nolan to have a window seat, so he could sit in the aisle and make sure nobody bothered him. He figured he’d just bite the bullet. He moved to sit in the right row.

“This one okay? Can I sit with you?” Nolan looked at him for a minute, appearing hesitant and flustered and unsure.

“Can we sit on the other side, actually?” Travis nodded, saying “No problem buddy” before getting up and following Nolan into the row directly across from the one he just sat in. Nolan sat down and appeared to struggle to get out his next sentence. Whether it was because he was being awkward or because he was potentially concussed, Travis didn’t know, so he waited patiently for his friend to speak.

“The other side...We couldn’t get comfortable, that’s the side my stitches are on. This side won’t hurt. Just! Just if you want. I don’t...nevermind” Nolan’s sentences came out slow, slightly lower than normal, and a little clunky, but Travis understood and almost shit his pants.

_ He picked this side so we could still- he wants to- Is he trying to be normal too? Does he like it? _ Travis decided to try and rationalize himself as much as possible.

“Well, anything to help ya, good buddy! Gotta elevate the area, right?” He asked, probably a little too loudly, with his cheeks a little too red. Nolan, cheeks also flaring, nodded. “Uh, y-yeah, that makes sense.” Travis shuffled into the row and settled in, placing his head on Nolan’s shoulder and holding his breath the whole time.

“I-is this? Okay?” Travis asked, not daring to move. He felt Nolan lightly place his own head down and nod slowly. Nolan was definitely a little out of it, and Travis didn’t want to take advantage of him.  _ I’m not Claude _ he thought slightly bitterly, remembering watching Claude in the training room with Nolan.  _ What if he’s being awkward because he’s with G and now he thinks...I can’t think about it _ . Nolan had fallen asleep rather quickly, not that Travis was surprised. Blunt force head trauma would do that to somebody, after all. Travis relaxed, feeling Nolan pressed against him and breathing deeply.  _ They don’t know what you mean to me _ Travis thought to himself, squirming a bit at the realization that maybe  _ he _ didn’t fully know either. Nolan moved in his sleep, grumbling a little bit, and Travis pulled his arm out from between them, resting it on Nolan’s knee. Nolan quieted at that, exhaling softly. Travis couldn’t help but suppress a smile as heat rose to his face.  _ It’s nothing, it’s cool, you’re just helping your buddy get better, that’s all. Totally normal bro stuff. _ Nolan woke up when the plane started landing, groaning slightly and clutching the side of his head. It fucking  _ hurt _ . The plane hit the ground and Nolan winced, trying to hold his head steady.

“Patty? You okay?” Nolan shook his head, putting it down between his knees and grumbling out a “fucking head hurts”. Not knowing what else to do, Travis placed his hand on Nolan’s back, rubbing slightly, trying to quell his irrational anger.  _ Stupid fucking plane can’t land gently for fucking once _ . Nolan slouched over, curling himself into Travis’ lap. Travis froze. He didn’t want to move Nolan, at risk of making his pain worse, but him staying where he was...Travis didn’t want things between them to get any more awkward. Once the plane stopped moving, he shook Nolan gently.

“Pat...Pat you should...it’s time to get off the plane” Nolan opened his eyes and sat up slowly, avoiding looking directly at Travis, his cheeks a deep red.

“Uh...thanks. Sorry bro.” Nolan stood up, holding onto the seats. “No problem", came Travis’ mumbled reply as he shuffled out of the row. Nolan was a little bit wobbly on his feet and Travis rushed forwards to catch him, throwing Nolan’s arm over his shoulders. Nolan grumbled a “thanks man” as he leaned heavily on Travis.  _ Just dudes helping bros everything is cool don’t be awkward this is normal _ Travis thought as he pulled Nolan off the plane. They were the last two off, running into Claude as they left. Claude eyed the two of them up.

“You need any help Patty?” Claude asked. Travis’ grip on Nolan tightened, but at the same time if Nolan wanted to go with G...if he wanted G to take care of him...that was Nolan’s choice.

“Nah G, Trav’s got me.” Nolan said, unceremoniously dropping his head down onto Travis’. G smiled and looked between the two.

“Alright TK, take care of your boy, yeah? He’s gonna need to keep everything around those stitches really clean, so he’ll actually have to wash his hair for once.”  Travis scowled at their captain as Nolan groaned. There was nothing wrong with their hair. He dragged Nolan back to the car, opening the passenger side door and maneuvering him inside. Nolan was more out of it than he was before they left New York, and to be completely honest Travis was worried about it. Swallowing his pride, he sent Claude a text.

**G.**

**He’s really out of it.**

**Should I be worried?**

**Should I take him somewhere?**

**G.**

**G.**

**G!!!!**

Travis drove home slowly, only keeping one hand on the wheel and letting his other hand rest on Nolan’s knee as he talked to him quietly. When he parked the car he saw Claude had answered. He could  _ feel _ the smug look on his captain’s face through the texts.

**_More_ ** **worried, you mean?**

**Just take him home, watch him overnight, make sure he’s comfortable.**

Nolan opened his car door and stepped out, holding onto the car until Travis could come around and grab him. Travis and Nolan made their way to the elevator.  _ I love you dude but if you think I’m carrying ass up all those stairs you’re insane _ . Travis wondered if he should take G’s advice and just keep Nolan at his place. Nolan might be more comfortable in his own bed, but Travis would be anxious if he couldn’t check on him. But Travis also didn’t want to take advantage of Nolan just because he was entrusted to take care of him. Travis pulled Nolan into his apartment, deciding since Nolan spent most of his time there anyway it’d just be easier. At least until Nolan was able to be on his own for a while. He pulled Nolan into his bedroom, the taller guy grumbling out a “Forward, aren’t you Teeks?” with a chuckle. Travis froze up before forcing himself to relax.  _ It’s a joke, he’s joking, you’re just bros helping each other out _ . He sat Nolan down on the bed and grabbed him a pair of sweatpants, throwing them at him.

“You’re just here so I can keep an eye on you bud. Can’t have you getting too wild” Travis joked, changing out of his game day suit and into his boxers. He went into the kitchen to give Nolan some privacy, and grabbed them some snacks. He knew Nolan was probably going to spend most of his time sleeping, but Travis wanted to make sure he had everything on hand for him if need be. By the time Travis got back to his bedroom, Nolan had changed into his sweatpants. He looked ridiculous, since he had a good 5 inches on Travis, and the sweatpants ended on his shins instead of around his ankles.

“I look like a giant” Travis tried to stifle a laugh, Nolan did look absurd, but Nolan was in  _ his _ sweatpants and that was giving Travis a feeling he didn’t want to think too hard about. 

“Yeah well you need to be somewhere I can keep an eye on you, so you’re gonna stay here, if that’s okay with you, I can take the couch if you don’t....” Nolan was already crawling under the covers, their warmth and the smell of the sheets relaxing him. It was probably because his brain was a little scrambled, but his only response was a grumbled “That’s fine I like sleeping with you” into Travis’ pillow that was  _ far too honest sounding _ for Travis to handle. He awkwardly shuffled under the covers, practically hanging off the bed leaving a big space between himself and his sleepy friend. Travis suppressed a gasp when Nolan’s hand encircled his wrist.  _ What’s happening what’s happening what’s happening what’s hap- _ . Nolan grumbled a “stop being stupid, it’s only gay if we’re gay dude” and dragged Travis closer. They weren’t touching, but Travis was fully on the bed.  _ Oh. okay. That makes sense I guess.  _ Travis went to lightly smack Nolan’s head before he thought better of it.

“I’d hit you but you’re bad enough as it is” Travis joked. He turned his head to smile at Nolan but saw he’d already fallen asleep, Travis’ wrist still in his loose grip. It should’ve made Travis nervous, but there was something  _ nice _ about it. Again, Travis didn’t dare think about it too hard, so he decided to just close his eyes and wait for sleep.  He had to stop being awkward about everything. Nolan needed him. He could do that. Really, nothing even happened at all, if he thought about it. He was a touchy feely kinda guy when it came to Nolan, that was common knowledge. So Nolan caught him, so what? It didn’t have to be any different than any of the other times they’d gotten all up in one another’s space. Resolved to  _ not _ be awkward about it anymore, Travis moved a hair closer to his friend, moving to make himself comfortable. Just like on the plane, having Nolan nearby relaxed Travis. Nolan was  _ fine _ and was  _ right here _ . Travis slept well that night.

They had an off day, which Travis was quietly grateful for. Not only did Nolan get grumpy when he had to miss, but Travis still wanted to stick around at home and watch him. First 24 hours, and all that. He was really warm when he woke up. As he started to shift, he felt a hard sharp press against his side, and air on the back of his neck. He turned his head and came face to face with a sleeping Nolan, who was cradling Travis’ still captive wrist near his chest. One of his legs had extended out towards Travis, his knee pressed into the winger’s side. He was snoring. Travis wanted to relish in the fact that he didn’t have to be anywhere for the day, so he stayed in bed for a while. When hunger had spoken loud enough, he pulled his arm out of Nolan’s hold and got dressed to go out in search of sustenance. He brought back all their usuals, plus some extra stuff for later so he wouldn’t have to go out again. When he came back, Nolan was still asleep. Travis felt bad for waking him, knowing he needed to rest to heal, but he knew the man needed to eat, too.

“Pat...Patty...dude wake up” Travis shook his shoulder gently. Nolan groaned

“Are you really gonna wake me up every single fucking day?” Travis grinned at Nolan’s normal morning mood.

“As many days as it takes, buddy” he waited until Nolan sat up before he handed over a couple of breakfast sandwiches and beverages. Nolan stared at them as his stomach rumbled, remembering on sight that it did, indeed, need to eat. He tore into his food, trying to say something to Travis, but it came out sounding like absolutely nothing at all.

“I’m sorry Patty what was that?” Travis asked with a laugh and a light shove to his teammate as he ate his own breakfast. Nolan swallowed and opened up his gatorade, using the chance to repeat his question.

“No skate?” Travis shook his head.

“No, we have the day off. So lucky for you I get to make sure you don’t die all day!” Nolan rolled his eyes. Grumbling about how he most certainly  _ wasn’t _ dying, his head just hurt, but what  _ might _ kill him was overexposure to Travis.

They moved themselves out into the living room, Travis keeping the lights off and the movie they were watching down low, after Nolan insisted  _ multiple times _ that he was fine to watch movies, really, it was just when the light was up close that it was hard. Travis turned down the brightness for the TV and picked one of their favorite movies anyway, figuring they both knew it well enough that if Nolan got tired he could just stop watching and still know what was going on. They spent most of the day like that, watching movies and shooting the shit. It felt normal, which was welcomed by the two after the previous evening.

“Do you think if you ate a lot of fish you’d get better faster?” Travis had the thought come into his head and asked it out loud immediately. Nolan slowly, purposefully put down his gatorade and turned to give Travis a blank stare.

“What”

“I mean, fish is like, brain food, right? So if we just make you eat a lot of fish do you think it’ll heal your brain?” Nolan just kept staring at him. He seemed to be thinking about it.

“I mean I guess that makes sense” Nolan said slowly.  _ Oh my god he’s a genius _ he thought, while Travis preened.  _ I’m a genius _ . 

“Okay, yeah, alright, we just gotta make you a list of brain-food and we’ll be all set! We got this Patty!” Travis pulled out his phone, choosing to ignore how Nolan rolled his eyes, and looked up brain food feeling  _ extremely pleased with himself _ .

_ We don’t need help, I don’t need to call G, I got this _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone know about the fish thing? I dont know where in my brain it came from but now I'm genuinely curious  
> My favorite stupid quotes from this chapter are "it's only gay if we're gay" (boys you're gay jfc) and the entire fish discussion.


	11. You've got me in stitches (literally)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis is convinced he's losing his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Travis doesn't even wash his own hair. Now he has to wash someone elses?
> 
> BE WARNED there's smut in this chapter.

Travis most certainly  _ did not _ have this. After he went to the store post practice to pick up “all the brain food”, coming home with 6 pounds of blueberries, a large tub of nuts, way too much salmon, more  avocados than should be allowed, 12 cans of beans, a big jug of pomegranate juice, four loaves of whole grain bread, and a case of dark chocolate, Nolan had told him that he needed to shower. Travis of course saw no problem with that, until Nolan had flushed and confessed that he would need help with the area around his stitches.

“I can’t see it...but I need to clean it”

“Oh no problem dude I got you!” Travis had said, not realizing that him cleaning around the stitches was the exact equivalent of just washing Nolan’s hair until he saw Nolan sitting in his tub, embarrassedly looking up at Travis. Travis scrambled to find a bucket, and stripped down to his boxers.

“I’ve never washed someone else’s hair before” he had confessed, wondering why Nolan didn’t ask Claude, but feeling a little too smug at the fact that he hadn’t.

“You don’t even wash your own hair dude” Nolan chuckled.

“Hey!” Travis fired back “You don’t either!”

“Yeah but Hartsy said I should wash my hair to keep any particles or whatever out of the ‘affected area’. And G said to keep it clean, and texted me directly to say ‘wash your fucking hair’  _ AND _ Neeks called and said I’d need to tone down the greaser act. So I guess I really have to wash it.” Travis shook his head.

“Hartsy is so smart what the fuck”

“Dude...right?” Nolan shook his head. Travis turned on the water, grumbling about how he’d already showered earlier and if he’d known they were gonna do this he’d have just waited. Nolan rolled his eyes. Travis grabbed a washcloth and his shampoo, setting up on the lip of the tub behind Nolan.

“Okay, uh….lean back. Or like...tip your head back...or like...just- just do whatever so this doesn’t get in your eyes.” Nolan leaned back and tipped his head back, making eye contact with his friend. Travis tipped the bucket of water over Nolan’s hair slowly, running one hand through his hair.  _ This is fine just be normal he needs you to not be awkward it’s already awkward for him as it is _ they both thought as they made eye contact before quickly looking away. Nolan settled on just closing his eyes while Travis focused on his hair. It had gotten quite long.

Nolan had closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he liked it when people played with his hair, and he tried to angle himself so that Travis wouldn’t see what would inevitably happen once he really got started, but he knew that it was futile. He tried to relax and think about the most un-arousing things he could. Taxes. The Trade deadline that had just passed but also felt like it could happen tomorrow. The entire Pittsburgh Penguins roster. He could do this. He could keep himself calm and under control.

Once Travis had deemed Nolan’s hair wet enough he squirted some shampoo into his hands, rubbing them together to warm it up a little bit before gently rubbing it into Nolan’s hair. Nolan sighed and relaxed against Travis, eyelids fluttering as he leaned into the winger’s touch. Travis’ hands in his hair were feather light, afraid of pulling at the stitches. Travis rinsed the shampoo and grabbed the conditioner, running it gently through the center’s hair. It was rhythmic, and slightly hypnotic for the two of them. Travis himself had relaxed, Nolan’s head rolling between his hands, his eyes closed and lips parted. Once he rinsed out the conditioner he took a moment just to look, holding Nolan’s head still in his hands. It was no secret that Nolan was attractive. Travis wasn’t gay, but  _ he _ knew Nolan was attractive. His skin was pale, shoulders broad against Travis’ knees. His chest and abs were pronounced, a thin dark trail of hair leading down, down, down…

Nolan could not keep himself under control. Feeling Travis’ hands in his hair was just too good. He knew it would have to stop soon or else his rapidly growing erection would be impossible to hide. He’d ask Travis if he was done, then quickly shoo him out to take care of it. It’d be fine.

Travis straightened suddenly and pulled his eyes back up, suppressing a gasp when they met Nolan’s own, his eyes wide. Travis flushed, his own cheeks complimenting the dark stain on Nolan’s.

“Are you all done?” Nolan asked, his voice slightly hoarse for a reason Travis couldn’t fathom, and Travis didn’t know if he meant done washing his hair, or done staring at him or both, so Travis just plastered a big smile on his face and croaked out a “yeah Pat, all done” before busying himself with putting the bucket down and looking anywhere but at Nolan. Nolan sat up as soon as he could, covering himself while Travis stood up and stepped away from the tub.  _ God he saw, fuck, it’s awkward now, shit _ they both thought, staying glued in place.

“I’m gonna...I need dry boxers. Do you...do you want a towel?” Travis asked, making a point to look at Nolan’s eyes and nowhere else. Nolan, who had watched the way Travis’ boxers clung to his hips, his thighs, and everywhere else, also made a point to look only into his teammates eyes, and shook his head quickly.

“N-no I’m already in here so I’ll just shower. Is that cool?” Travis nodded jerkily.   
“Okay. I’ll be out in the apartment so just...yell if you need anything, yeah?” Nolan nodded as Travis practically sprinted out of the room, running into his bedroom. He stripped off his boxers and threw them across the room, grabbing a new pair.  _ I need to call G I can’t do this _ he thought for a moment. Nolan’s embarrassed face came back to him then. He shook his head. Hard. Clearing all his thoughts away, he took a deep breath.

_ Nolan said he didn’t want G’s help. So I don’t need to call G. I can do this. We’re fine. Maybe he just has a hair thing and that’s what happened. It’s fine. He’s embarrassed and he needs help and G would only take advantage of that. I won’t do the same. I don’t care what happens. I can do this. _ Resolving himself for what was probably the fifth time in what was at maximum three days, Travis put on some sweatpants and wandered out into the kitchen, popping some bread in the toaster and pulling out two of their avocados. He figured he’d make Nolan a snack for when he got out of the shower, try and keep that brain on the right track to recovery. 

Nolan had long since washed the soap off of his body. He’d taken care of himself and was debating on whether or not to tell Travis that he had this specific... _ situation _ . Not telling him would be taking advantage of him, right? Plus, he didn’t want Travis to think that he was getting hard over him, that’d be a  _ disaster _ . So, despite how uncomfortable the conversation would be, Nolan decided they’d have it. He turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, heading out into the kitchen. Travis was frantically mashing avocados onto pieces of toast, but looked up when Nolan came in.

“Hey, Teeks. I uh...This is gonna be awkward, and like, I should’ve told you earlier man, but I’ve got a….” Nolan was mumbling, nothing he said was audible, but Travis waited.

“Ya see, when. I get…”

“Spit it out Patty!” Travis chuckled, giving him an encouraging smile. Nolan’s flush grew even darker.

“When people play with my hair, that really...does it for me. So...yeah. Just. I know it’s a little awkward, you having to be put in this position, and if you’re uncomfortable about it I  _ totally _ get it and I can totally ask someone else to help-”

“NO!” Travis shouted, shocking both of them.

“No, no no, it’s cool. I like helping!” Travis was tense, and had a crazed look in his eye. The mere  _ idea _ of Nolan going to someone else and them seeing him like that...he hated it.  _ He’d be so embarrassed if anyone else found out about it. Nobody else needs to know, they don’t need to see it, it’s fine. _ Nolan seemed to relax at that, offering a grateful smile.

“Cool. Cool thanks man. Yeah I just wanted to tell you so you didn’t think that like- I mean we’re not gay or anything but-”

“Pat. It’s cool, I promise. Besides” he said as he shoved the plate piled high with avocado toast towards his friend “Soon you’ll be all better and get to go back to not washing your hair like the rest of us” Nolan chuckled, picking up the toast and eating it. It was good.

“I’ll still have to wash it for a while Teeks, but  _ you _ won’t have to for very much longer if you keep it up with these brain foods.”

 

They got into a routine. Travis would go to practice, come back, shower and wash Nolan’s hair. After the first few days Nolan suggested they just do it all at once.

“It’s not any different than in the locker room dude” and well, Travis had to admit he was right, they always showered in the locker room together so what’s the difference here, other than the number of shower heads? Other than both of them ignoring the elephant between Nolan’s legs. It was good, it worked, it allowed Travis to keep an eye on the stitches daily and report to the trainers. He got a lot of snickers from the guys when he’d come to skate, but he ignored them. Nolan had started sleeping up in his own apartment again, but spent the majority of his day in with Travis. It was a good sign, he was able to be a little active. Travis knew Nolan hated being cooped up and missing practice. One time Travis had come back and Nolan wasn’t there. Travis absolutely did not freak out whatsoever. He only called Nolan 7 times, thank you very much. Nolan came back to the apartment later, and had told him that he’d been hanging out with Hartsy. They had skated together before practice. Travis was surprised, he noticed Nolan had been texting Hartsy more recently, but didn’t know they were that close. 

Nolan was back at practice on Friday. He had a no-contact jersey on, but he was still back in action all the same. Travis didn’t want to say it was because of all the brain food, but well, it was pretty obvious that it was. He was grabbing water by the bench when he saw Carter come over.

“Hey TK” Carter had said casually, fixing some of his pads. “Nolan looks better” he said. Travis nodded, watching his friend skate around and shoot a few pucks. He was glad Nolan was back. He was always happiest at the rink. Carter continued on, taking Travis out of his thoughts.

“Does he need any help?” Carter asked, shocking Travis a little bit.

“What?”

“Does he need help? I know he has to keep his stitches really clean so he has to wash his hair a lot more than the two of you are used to” Travis rolled his eyes at Carter’s chirp before the goalie pressed on. “But I mean, When you can’t see them washing them can be hard. I don’t want him to feel like I’m pitying him by offering to help, but if he wanted I could wash his hair. I’m used to washing mine regularly, and when I was in Everett I used to wash my mom’s hair in the sink whenever she had a bad day! So I’ve gotten really good at it!” Travis put down his water bottle a little more forcefully than he probably should have.

“I got it.” He grumbled out. The edge in his voice startled the young goaltender.

“Whoa, chill man, I-”

“ **I got it. Understand? I got him.** ” Travis practically growled before skating away to find Nolan.  _ Everybody just needs to mind their own fucking business. Nolan is fine. We have it covered.  _

 

They got back from skate and all Nolan wanted to do was nap.

“Fuck off Trav, I’m tired, let me nap”   
“Patty we gotta clean your head!”

“Oh my god we’ll just put some of that fucking cream on it and then wash it later it’s fine. I’ll survive if I take a nap for a little bit.” Travis grumbled, but figured he might as well do what Nolan wanted. God knew he probably wouldn’t actually be able to wrestle Nolan into the shower unless he wanted to. Deciding a nap sounded nice after spending his own practice both running drills and following Nolan around from a somewhat respectable distance, he was tired too. He pulled Nolan’s head down and got the cream the trainers gave them out of the bathroom, squirting it on a q-tip and gently parting Nolan’s hair, rubbing the cream around the stitches.

“Alright, you’re good, now fuck off I want to nap” Nolan laughed and flipped him off as he headed upstairs. Travis crashed down onto his couch and flipped through his phone.

 

_ They were in the shower, Travis lathering up Nolan’s hair. He rinsed it out, letting his hands stay and play with the soaked strands. Nolan closed his eyes and leaned into his touch, parting his lips. He had such a pretty face. Travis continued with the conditioner, making sure to get complete coverage. When he used a lot of conditioner, Nolan’s hair always got really soft. He rinsed that out too, and stepped back to soap himself up. Nolan opened his eyes, pupils blown wide, gaze dark and intense as he stared at Travis. Travis’ breath caught in his throat when Nolan sank to his knees. _

_ “Patty…” Travis sighed out, unable to get anything else out as he stared at the center forward who now had his hands running up Travis’ thighs towards his dick, which had gotten interested as soon as Nolan started to kneel. _

_ “You’ve been helping me out so much Teeks...let me help you out, eh?” Nolan’s face was inches away from Travis’ steadily growing erection, he looked up at his shorter friend and licked his lips. Travis nodded, putting his hands in Nolan’s hair as Nolan wrapped his lips around him. Travis thought he’d never looked better. He tugged on Nolan’s hair and relished in the deep groan that he drew out of him. He stared at his friend, those rosy cheeks hollowed out, eyes closed, hand down and around his own dick. Him liking this enough to get off to it...Patty you dirty bird. He tugged on Nolan’s hair, keeping his hands moving through it as much as he could, almost losing it as he felt his head tap against the back of Nolan’s throat. Nolan hummed and swallowed him down. Travis knew he wouldn’t last, he pulled on Nolan’s hair, warned him, but Nolan just kept going. _

Travis woke up overheated, with a tent in his sweatpants, and panic set in his mind.  _ I did not just have a sex dream about patty I did NOT just have a sex dream about patty I DID NOT JUST HAVE A SEX DREAM ABOUT PATTY _ but his dick told him otherwise.  _ Do I jerk off? Is it gay to jerk off if I was just thinking about a dude? Really I’m just thinking about getting my dick sucked, right? It doesn’t HAVE to be about who was sucking it, right? That’s not gay right? _ Travis couldn’t take it any longer as he slipped his hand into his sweatpants. He didn’t last long. He made his way to his bedroom, peeling off his soiled bottoms and putting on new ones. He started the shower at the same time he tried to force himself to stop having an existential crisis.  _ Chill man it probably didn’t even mean anything other than it’s been too long since you’ve hooked up with somebody. _ Travis knew that was true. With their road stint, and then Nolan being injured, Travis hadn’t gone out to bring anybody home in quite some time. Clearly his pent up sexual frustration was seeking  _ anything _ to be a target, and his recent cohabitation with Nolan was optimal prey.  _ It’s fine it doesn’t mean anything. _ Nolan chose that moment to come through the door, shirt already coming off of his body as he entered the bathroom.

Nolan knew he was, at this point, taking advantage of Travis. He could wash his own hair. It wasn’t hard. He knew where his stitches were, and knew to be a little more careful when he got to that part of his scalp, but otherwise he was completely set. But Nolan, though he wouldn’t even really admit it to himself, liked when Travis washed his hair. It felt better when the hands in your hair weren’t yours. He’d definitely been spending a lot more time with his right hand since Travis had started to help take care of him, but it wasn’t Nolan’s fault that hands in his hair was his thing. Hell, he could’ve had a foot fetish or something. Thank god he didn’t have that. But he had made up his mind. Once he cleared final protocol, he’d go back to showering by himself and let Travis off the hook. He knew it must’ve been awkward for him, and did feel bad about his lingering fake need for the help, but Nolan couldn’t help it. Travis’ hands were so careful, and he could tell that Travis kind of liked running his hands through Nolan’s hair because sometimes, when Nolan was napping on the couch, he could  _ swear _ he’d feel Travis’ hands, soft and light, combing through his hair, and hear Travis reverently mumbling over how soft his hair was. Nolan was about 60% sure that it was the hair that kept him going back, and not just because it was Travis. 

_ You’ll be fine just calm down. _ They both thought as they finished discarding their clothes. The two stepped into the shower and Travis went for the shampoo immediately. If he just got this done quickly, then maybe they could get on with their lives. Besides, once Nolan cleared final protocol for their game he’d be fully cleared to resume all activity, washing his own hair included, and all Travis would need to help do was apply the cream to the stitched area. And then he could go out and find a girl to bring home and let all of this be put behind him. He’d finished shampooing Nolan’s hair when the taller man spoke.

“Trav?” Nolan sounded...breathless. Before that dream Travis would have tried to ignore it but after...he couldn’t.

“Yeah?” His voice didn’t sound any better. Nolan turned to face him, opening his eyes. They were dark. Travis tried to keep himself grounded.

“Thanks, for all this. Helping me out, I mean. I know it’s a lot. If I could pay you back I would.” They stared at one another. Travis nodded slowly. Nolan’s cheeks were dark, he towered over Travis. Travis couldn’t stop staring at his lips. His dream still heavy in his mind. Travis thought for the shortest of seconds how  _ easy _ it would be to just reach over and touch him. To step closer into his space, to pull him down.  _ I can’t. _ Travis stepped back, even though a part of him that seemed to be growing bigger all the time desperately wanted him to step forwards.

“Yeah, no problem Patty! What are friends for eh?” He asked with a grin that felt a little too forced. Nolan nodded jerkily and turned back around to face away from the shower spray, signaling for Travis to continue. Travis took a deep breath and took a step forwards. He rinsed Nolan’s hair, failing to ignore how he had tipped his head back and let a sigh escape his lips. Travis closed his eyes and took deep breaths, uncapping the conditioner and pouring it out into his palm. He quickly ran it through Nolan’s hair, feeling the man sag into the touch. Travis closed his eyes and tried to hold on to whatever sanity he had left, because surely, if this was really happening, he was actually losing his mind. Travis considered himself lucky that he never really washed his own hair, because after this he probably wasn’t ever going to be able to again. He had finished rinsing Nolan’s hair for the last time and stepped away, grabbing the bar of soap and working up a lather in his hands. He tried to ignore how his proximity to Nolan was affecting him. He soaped himself up quickly and rinsed off, handing the soap to Nolan before practically running out of the shower. He grabbed a towel.

“We gotta pack for the game Pat, do you need help or do you got it?” He asked as he started gathering up his toiletries. Nolan stepped out of the shower then, grabbing the towel Travis had left for him.

“I got it, thanks Teeks.” Nolan shuffled into Travis’ room to grab a pair of sweatpants before heading upstairs. Travis stood in front of his suitcase, not packing.  _ I almost thought about kissing him. Why did I do that? I couldn’t do that. I know he wanted me to help him get better but I can’t ruin whatever he’s got going with G, even if I don’t like it. Whatever, when we come back from New York I’ll find someone to bring home and that’ll be the end of it _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Carter probably never actually washed his mom's hair in the kitchen sink for her when she had a bad day, but I wouldn't put it past him. Carter and TK unfollowed one another on Instagram recently, so I'm HCing that they're fighting over Nolan heheheh   
> Also, wow maybe these boys are getting a clue! Can't be long now, right? Though if Travis still thinks Nolan is with G, who knows?


	12. The French Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis finally gets laid.  
> Danny Briere comes to town and Travis sees G really smile for the first time as he learns that maybe gay hockey players are more real than santa clause.  
> Nolan and Travis celebrate Travis being 22.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danny Briere coming in for a landing

Travis packed his neck pillow, though they didn’t sleep on the plane, both seemingly too keyed up, so they listened to Nolan’s pre-game playlist on the way. Their only physical contact was when their knees would bump.

They beat the Islanders. Not super shocking. G gave Nolan an assist on a goal early in the second period, and someone on the bench near Travis’ comment about how good they are together made his skin prickle. He hadn’t really accepted that Nolan and G were fooling around, having laid off on the captain once Nolan had said he wanted Travis to be the one to look after him, but with his dream complicating his already complicated feelings about Nolan, seeing the two of them together never failed to make him itchy all over. To shut everybody up, Travis himself scored late in the second. He saw how Nolan grinned at him and gave him an extra fist bump. On the plane home they looked at various memes, but Travis was a man on a mission. When they got home he was going to go out and find a girl. He was determined. They landed and drove home, Nolan bidding Travis a good night, though Travis thought it seemed hesitant. He contemplated going up to Nolan’s to see what was bugging him before he mentally yelled at himself. He had to go find somebody to hook up with so his brain could stop getting confused and thinking Nolan was a viable option. _Maybe if he wasn’t your best fucking friend it’d be different, but he is. You can’t fuck your bro, man, that’s not cool, and you’re not into dudes anyway._

Nolan went upstairs to his apartment. It felt weird to not be hanging out with Travis. Their relationship had progressed from best friends who hung out often to borderline roommates, and Nolan hadn’t even really noticed until tonight when they didn’t hang out. He thought maybe them taking some space would be good for him. He knew Travis was hot, and having the man tangle his hands in Nolan’s hair every day for almost a week made Nolan’s fantasies _way_ different than they used to be. He’d foolishly thought for a moment the last time Travis had washed his hair that _maybe_ something would happen that would show him that _maybe_ Travis was just as lost as he was. But nothing did, and they went about almost like the entire past week hadn’t happened at all. It wasn’t like, a big deal, or anything, but once Nolan thought about it, it was hard to stop. “Whatever I don’t have time for this shit” was all he grumbled to himself before he went to bed.

 

She was small, and blonde, and the only thing she had in common with Nolan was that she was pretty. It was perfect. Travis brought her home half an hour before the bar even closed, stopping often to press her against the wall and kiss her senseless. He got her into his bedroom without incident. They went as many rounds as they could handle. Her only complaint was how his hands lingered in her hair. They fucked, she sucked him, he ate her out, he used his fingers, Travis let out all of the pent up frustration that had been building over the past month in one night. He had her shaking, his name falling from her lips like a prayer. She gave him her number, but she didn’t stay the night. Travis wasn’t even sure he wanted her to anyway. She was like, cool, and stuff, but he scratched his itch, and was ready to sit back and have a beer before bed.

 

Travis didn’t score against the senators on his birthday. Not for lack of trying! Patty was on a rush, and instead of shooting (a shot which would totally go in, it’s Patty, after all) he passed it to _him_ . When it didn’t go through Nolan sent him a shrug and a smile, Travis shaking his head at him and nudging him with his shoulder in thanks. It was a nice effort, anyways, and very unselfish of Nolan to do that. At least they won, anyways. Nolan had not so subtly convinced Travis to take his time in the locker room after the game, rushing out with a quick goodbye. Nolan wasn’t the only one acting weird though. Even before warmies, G had been...off. It was like he was trying to contain himself, but from what or _for_ what, Travis had no idea. But their captain seemed lighter, he smiled more easily, he was in a better mood than usual. _He and Patty must’ve gotten some last night too_ Travis thought, thinking about how weird Nolan had been all day. _Are older guys like...what does it for Patty?_ Travis chuckled to himself as he discarded his gear. A shorter guy came in not long after, Travis couldn’t quite place why he looked familiar, but he watched curiously as the guy greeted Jake and Coots. The two of them entertained him for a few moments before they pointed across the room. Travis followed their direction and found Claude, his bright smile probably visible from space. Claude stood up and met the man, _Danny_ , he heard, in the middle of the room. The two men were smiling at one another like they couldn’t stop, and it looked like maybe they were leaning into an embrace before something quickly flashed across Danny’s face and Claude pulled back, going for the typical hand-clasp-bro-hug. Travis looked around and saw that the press had stayed, even after asking their questions, to see Danny and Claude. The two fell into conversation, and since Travis couldn’t hear it, he decided he’d just finally make his way to the showers. He took his time. He’d usually just jump right back out, but today he realized that this was one of the first times he’d been back showering in the locker room instead of his own apartment with Nolan. It wasn’t like, weird, or anything, but it made Travis pause for a few moments. It took him a while to notice he was the last one in the showers. Shrugging it off and finally getting to clean himself up, he padded quietly back towards the locker room. It was like, really quiet. Except for a few people talking, but he couldn’t figure out what they were saying. _Who’s...what language is that?_ He thought as he heard two men murmuring back and forth to one another. He paused in the doorway, watching curiously

 

Claude and Danny kept somewhat regular contact. They had gotten a little worse at it in recent years, with Danny in Maine and Claude trying to drag his team to the Playoffs year after year. So when he didn’t hear from Danny until the day of the Sens game that he’d be there, Claude didn’t have enough time to shake out all his excitement before he left for the rink. _Danny’s here_ seemed to be the only thought that would run through Claude’s mind for the day. After making sure he’d see Danny after the game, he tried to settle himself down and focus. He couldn’t help it, seeing Danny was...well, Claude wasn’t even smart enough to describe it in French, let alone English. He’d just started to change out of his gear when he saw the doors open and the man himself walk in. Danny had quietly nodded and exchanged pleasantries with Jakey and Coots, before everyone saw Jakey point over to Claude himself, he and Sean trying to hide their knowing smirks as Danny followed Jake’s finger and beamed when he saw Claude. Claude stood up immediately, Danny was like a magnet and the two were pulling one another in, meeting in the middle. As Claude got ready to absolutely encase Danny in a crushing hug, the lines around his eyes tightened, reminding Claude that there were, in fact, media and others in the room. He straightened up and grabbed Danny’s hand, eyes brightening when he felt the sparks fly as he pulled him into their bro-hug. Danny’s whisper of his name in his ear did inexplicable things to Claude, and the way he stiffened when Claude exhaled in his ear showed that Danny was right there with him. Danny’s eyes swept the locker room, landing and lingering on Nolan and Travis as they managed to bicker while sitting practically on top of one another.

“That’s TK and Patty. The team’s ‘new’ old married couple” Claude pointed out, watching Danny’s gaze. Danny smiled back at him.

“Yeah? Are they…” Danny seemed to struggle to voice what he wanted to say, electing to simply gesture between himself and Claude.

“Oh absolutely.”

“They figuring it all out sooner than we did?”

“Speak for yourself old man, I knew the moment I met you.” That got Claude a shove to the shoulder.

“Well, I think we turned out alright”

“Don’t worry Danny. You were worth the wait.”

They chatted for a few moments more, Claude finally tearing himself away to shower as Danny entertained the press. Claude had never showered so quickly in his entire life. He’d showered and come out to the locker room to settle in his stall and wait until all his boys left. Danny stayed, leaning above him, a soft smile on his face as the two took one another in. Claude hadn't realized how much tension and stress he'd been unconsciously holding in until Danny was back, and he felt himself completely relax, warm contentment thrumming through his veins as he just sat and soaked in the older man's presence. Claude reveled in Danny’s voice. To this day, Danny was one of the very few that said his name _right_.

“Claude”

“ _Danny_ ” Claude was thankful everyone had long since vacated the locker room, able to just be with Danny and have the world feel a little more complete. He leaned up to give the man a light kiss. Danny’s smile turned playful as he pulled back before Claude could get too carried away.

“You didn’t score for me, mon cher” Danny’s voice was soft, but teasing. Claude groaned, his voice taking on a higher pitch. “Don’t worry, love, I’m sure you’ll find _some way_ to make it up to me”

“At least I _can_ still score, mon râleur” Claude joked, quirking a brow up at the older man. Danny’s smile turned wicked.

“I guess you’re right...I’ll just take my leave then. Goodbye, mon cher.” Danny turned and made it halfway out of the locker room before Claude was on his feet, racing over to him and pulling him in, back to his chest. Claude’s hands ran down Danny’s front, inching lower as he heard his love’s breath hitch.

“You can always score if it’s with me, mon coeur” Claude reminded, Danny turning to look up at the younger captain.

“Yeah? Have you been good while I’ve been gone, Clo?” Danny’s hands running up along Claude’s chest. Claude looked down, a little sheepish.

“I-mostly...yes?” Danny chuckled and shook his head.

“Who was it, Claude?” Claude sighed.

“Patty. You saw him. But it was only the one night! After the Stadium Series.”

“ _He_ had the assist for Raffl, no? Very good. But Jesus Claude, he’s the same age as the boys…” Claude couldn’t meet Danny’s eyes.

“I realized that a few days after, it wasn’t pretty.” Danny hummed, letting his hand trail up to rest on the back of Claude’s neck.

“Did you let him fuck you, cher?” He asked, voice dropping low as his hand tightened around the ginger’s neck. Claude vigorously shook his head.

“N-no Danny, only you-” he didn’t finish as Danny pulled him down into a heated kiss, pressing him back into his stall.

“Good...so you have been good then, Claude. Shall we go back to yours? Can you wait? Or do you want to start right here. Just like old times?” Claude’s brain was definitely offline. He shook his head.

“ _Jesus_ Danny...I-if we start here I won’t make it home. I won’t be able to stop.” Claude was already gasping as one of Danny’s hand trailed down to rub at the rapidly growing bulge in Claude’s trousers. Danny nodded at him then, stepping back.

“Let’s go home then, mon amour” Danny twined his and Claude’s fingers together and led him out of the locker room.

 

Travis didn’t move for several minutes. He was finally shocked out of his stupor when his phone rang, alerting that he had an incoming call from Nolan. He shook his head and high-tailed it out of the locker room, answering his friend to confirm he was finally on the way home.

_I’ve never seen G smile like that before. What if he isn’t with Patty, he’s with this guy Danny? Oh man. Holy shit. How long have they been doing this? Danny really fucked G in his stall? That’s so hot. Looks like Patty isn’t the only one into older people. And christ, G, keep it in your pants, I could see you fucking oggoling him from across the room._

Travis drove back to his apartment still in a daze. Travis didn’t know french, but like, he didn’t need to to know that the two men were speaking affectionately towards one another. The looks on their faces was more than enough. _They gotta be like...boyfriends...or something._ Travis opened his front door and immediately got hit in the face with a balloon with a crudely drawn smiley face. He caught it before it dropped and looked up. Nolan was grinning at him as he continued to hit balloons towards the apartment entrance, and the birthday boy. Any thoughts Travis had of telling Nolan what he’d seen had vanished as he laughed at the younger man, hitting the balloons back at him as he made his way into his apartment. Nolan had Taylor Swift's "22" on repeat.

“Bout fucking time you got here bud. I thought Gritty got ya” Travis sputtered at that.

“You told me to take my time! Besides you had to take your time getting my apartment and yourself all pretty for me.” Nolan rolled his eyes and pulled Travis into a headlock, back to chest. Travis couldn’t help but think back to earlier, seeing G and Danny in a similar position. He reached up behind him, scrabbling to grab hold of anything he could in attempts to free himself. He got one hand firmly cupping Nolan’s jaw and the other fisted in his hair, pushing and pulling to try and twist himself away. Nolan grunted but held fast, flexing his fucking huge arm around Travis’ neck and knuckling down into his scalp.

“Don’t dish it if you can’t take it dumbass”

“Hey! You can’t be mean to me on my _birthday_!” Nolan sighed deeply. Travis could feel it. Nolan pushed Travis out of his hold.

“Whatever loser, what do you want for your stupid birthday” Travis’ mind threw him back to his dream the other night. Nolan kneeling down before him. _He’s so fucking huge he’d probably have to bend even on his knees for me_ . Travis shook his head rapidly, trying to clear the thought that had taken root in his mind no matter how hard he tugged at it. The word “You” came out of his mouth before Travis could stop it, as he thanked whatever higher power for the fact that he was facing _away_ from Nolan. Where the _fuck_ did that come from anyway? He knew his relationship with Nolan wasn’t like, normal. They were definitely closer than most of the guys on the team, Raffl and Laughton included, and Travis knew by now that what he felt for Nolan wasn’t exactly still under the ‘bro’ umbrella, but knowing that and _acknowledging_ it and _doing_ something about it were all very different things, and Travis was in no way ready to actually _deal with it_. He turned to face his friend, pasting a too-big smile on his face, as he took in Nolan’s confused gaze and dark cheeks. There was something else there, but Travis didn’t dare give it a name.

“Trav...are you-”

“You don’t have to get me anything, stupid. If you wanna get me something get me some fucking food, jesus” Travis said with a roll of his eyes and a push past Nolan into the kitchen. Nolan let out a tiny, quiet sound. Maybe a huff, but like, Travis wasn’t big on identifying his friend’s various sounds. Nolan followed him into the kitchen and hip checked him into the fridge, pulling out a cake from the Di Bruno Bros.

“Fine I’ll eat this whole thing myself”

“That’s _my_ cake!”

“Yeah, that _I_ bought”

“But it’s _my_ birthday!”

“Fuck off you said not to get you anything, I’m being a good friend and _not_ getting you this cake.”

“But it’s from Di Bruno’s!”

“Yeah it sure fuckin is, bud” Nolan smirked and held the box high above his head, a gleam in his eye. The only thing that stopped Travis from attempting to climb up his fucking giant of a friend was the immediate worry the cake would fall.

“I nursed you back to health _on your deathbed_ and this is how you thank me? Jesus, Patty” Nolan chuckled at that, shaking his head.

“Fine, I guess if you _really want it_ I’ll share with you.” As soon as Nolan lowered his arm enough, Travis snatched the cake box out of his hands, putting it onto the counter and opening it. He turned to glare at Nolan.

“ _Not_ nice” The cake itself was beautiful, and written in frosting, in cursive, was “Happy Birthday Dumbass.” Nolan had been trying to contain himself, but lost it at the look on Travis’ face.

“I had to pay extra to get them to write that! Really pulled out all the stops for you bud” Nolan’s straight face was cracking, as he started to chuckle uncontrollably. “Oh man, Trav, you should see your stupid face, holy shit” Travis flipped him off and grabbed a knife, cutting himself a healthy slice, and cutting Nolan a sliver.

“Hey” Nolan grumbled as Travis gave him a shit eating grin.

“I gotta catch up to you big boy, so _I get more cake_.” He gave Nolan a pat on the cheek and headed over to the couch. Nolan took his tiny slice and followed him, sitting down first. Travis sat and settled his feet in Nolan’s lap, ignoring the protesting grunts from the other man. Nolan ate his cake and tried to subtly lean over, reaching out with his fork and arm extended to steal some of Travis’ piece. Travis knocked his fork out of his hand, tsking at him. “If you’d have asked nicely, I’d have given you some” Nolan rolled his eyes at that

"I was nice to you all damn day. I tried to help you score, dude, it's not my fault you couldn't handle it" Nolan said it in a teasing tone, but he knew there was slight venom behind his words. He'd been pointedly avoiding looking anywhere but Travis' face, knowing if he looked fucking anywhere else he'd see the marks of Travis' most recent conquest, that Nolan didn't want to think about, because he found it hurt in multiple ways that he didn't care to explore.

Travis' heart stopped. All he could think about was earlier that night, G telling Danny "You can always score when it's with me". Nolan obviously hadn't been there, and couldn't have known, but the thought, the mental image of Nolan holding him in that position, trying to score, with  _Travis_ , turned Travis' brain into a shape not dissimilar to the mashed up chunks of cake he had left on his plate. His mouth fell open, in complete disbelief, as his cheeks flared. Nolan looked like he slightly regretted what he said. Travis gave him a heel to the thigh in retaliation, not trusting his voice to come up with anything, but needing to express his annoyance with Nolan's regret, or maybe his chirp, Travis wasn't sure. Either way, no real harm done. He turned his head back to Beavis and Butt-Head do America. They settled further into the couch as they watched, casually bickering with one another. They fell asleep like that long before the movie was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danny Briere and Claude Giroux being adult disasters in love while refusing to name it is Peak heterosexual hockey culture, thank you very much.  
> Also Nolan getting Travis a cake with the word "dumbass" on it seems fitting idk why  
> Travis got laid but can't stop thinking about his best friend sucking his dick! Heterosexuality? She ain't here.


	13. Dirty hair, dirtier thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nolan uses his brain for three minutes and realizes he's fucked. Travis tries to use his brain even less than usual, if that's possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those picture day pics had me feeling things!  
> Travis looks like he barely showers anyway so I'm taking artistic liberty and saying it's because he can't shower anymore without thinking about railing Nolan against the wall.

Nolan wasn’t sure when he actually like, figured it out. He’d been able to more or less write everything with his injury off as him having a stupid thing for people playing with his hair, but he knew that he felt something not pleasant when he showed up at Travis’ place and found the older man a little smug and covered in scratches and bruises. He knew that that night he was a little angry and it came out sharper than he expected when he’d said

“I tried to help you score dude, not my fault you couldn’t handle it” after Travis had been huffing about not being able to score a goal on his birthday. Travis’ face, mouth open in disbelief and cheeks red in what Nolan knew had to be anger, made Nolan know that he’d probably said something not cool. They didn’t talk about hockey at home, that was the deal. Travis gave him a shove with his foot, which, in its place on Nolan’s lap, was _dangerously_ close to damaging something important, but Nolan knew he probably deserved it. Nolan could tell he was pissed that Travis got some and he didn’t, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. _What’s he into?_ Nolan knew that like, looks wise, Travis gravitated towards petite blonds, but Nolan didn’t know what Travis liked, like, sexually. Which he thought was kinda unfair, since Travis knew Nolan had a hair thing. He wasn’t gonna ask, he wasn’t insane, but it was weird that he didn’t know something about a guy who made every fucking thought he’s ever had readily available. He knew Travis thought about Nolan having sex, all the stupid unrelenting questions about him and G were clear evidence of that, with Travis fixating on Nolan being held down, but now that Travis had brought someone home, Nolan found himself thinking about similar questions. _Would Travis want to be on top or would he want to let the other person do all the work? I can see that little shit enjoying it either way_ . _Guy’s a force of nature, I bet once he got started…_ Nolan often had to stop himself from thinking about it too hard because it’d melt his brain a little bit. He was only 20, so he could think about logistics of Travis’ sexcapades multiple times a day and get himself to react every time. Once it’d been several times a day and several days in a row, Nolan had to admit to himself that he had a problem. It wasn’t his fault that playing an extremely demanding sport with the guy gave him firsthand experience of Travis with intensity in his eyes, panting and yet still gasping out Nolan’s name to get his attention for something. Once he heard multiple teammates of theirs chirp him about never smiling, which Travis questioned them about

“What are you talking about, sure Patty doesn’t smile _all the time_ , but he smiles a lot!” Nolan started to figure out that he really only smiled when Travis was involved. Not like, press smiles, or someone said some dumb but funny shit smiles, but real _wow I’m happy right now and life is great_ smiles. Nolan didn’t think there was a difference, but apparently according to his teammates there was. So fine. He was maybe a little more interested in Travis than just like, physically, but he knew there was no point in making a big deal about it. When he woke up with Travis’ feet still in his lap, his hand having moved down to lightly grip the winger’s ankles, he grumbled to himself and tried to go back to sleep. They were just bros, who happened to touch one another all the fucking time and sometimes shower together, it was cool, he could be cool. They had playoffs to play to, this was the wrong time to try and make moves. Not that Nolan had any real moves in the first place. He grumbled to himself again, he hated having to think about shit. He decided he wasn’t going to for the rest of the morning and just focused in on Travis’ relaxed breathing, letting it pull him back into slumber.

Travis hadn’t washed his hair in an exceptionally long time. His showering got even faster than it already was. He couldn’t use his own shower for more than a couple of minutes before he was thinking about Nolan. His eyes closed, lips parted, cheeks dark and head thrown back as Travis ran his hands through his hair. Nolan arching back farther, too tall for his head to fit under the stream without contorting his body, complaining about how the contortion caused strain in his neck. Travis, stepping even closer, trying to stay calm, and taking Nolan’s head completely in his shaking hands. Feeling him relax, let out a sigh, and trying to calm his own heart. Thinking about that, while knowing his face would look much the same if he himself chose to wash his own hair was...too much. Still, he thought about G and Danny. They looked and sounded like they’d been together for ages. _Did they start off like this? Weird dreams about their best friends? Taking care of each other? Living together?_ Travis shook it out of his head before he could think about the way the two displayed affection, he didn’t dare find out what thoughts would come to mind if he let himself delve into it.

It was picture day. Travis didn’t wash his hair. He got enough chirps about it from the guys regularly, but he got an excessive amount today. To be fair, his hair looked fucking gross. Not like Nolan’s. Nolan looked like he went to a fucking salon, that jerk. His hair was clean, and shiny, and _probably really soft_ . At first, Travis thought maybe Oskar hadn’t washed his hair either, but the guy was seen slicking his hair back with some sort of gel, and before he’d put it in his hair remained looking frustratingly clean. G didn’t have a particularly noticeable spring in his step since Travis had seen him in the locker room with Danny, but his smiles came a lot easier. If Travis thought he was watching G before, well, now it was like he never looked away. Travis thought if he looked hard enough, he could like, _see_ what G did that got him and Danny together. Travis noticed he wasn’t the only one watching his captain, though. Jake and Sean were also keeping an eye on him, chirping him out of Travis’ earshot at a higher frequency than normal. One of the chirps just made him realize they were fawning over cheeses. “Brie ooooh” came out of Sean’s mouth on more than one occasion, and Jake asked if Claude was going to start a new family or just add to the one he already has. None of it made any sense to Travis, so instead he went back to searching for Nolan. He’d found him as they shuffled out onto the ice, looking around and biting his lip. Travis didn’t know if they were supposed to be arranged in any special way, so he lightly gripped the back of Nolan’s jersey, following him up to the top of the risers. He knew how picture day was supposed to work. Tall kids in the back, short kids up front. But he just wanted to be close to Nolan, and Sam Morin was in the front goddamn row so Travis could go wherever the fuck he wanted as far as he was concerned. He watched Nolan smile a lot. Nolan didn’t smile often, so whenever he did Travis payed attention. Nolan’s smile for picture day was different than the smile Travis usually saw on him, but he didn’t comment on it. He was sure his own smile for picture day was different too.

They lost to the Caps, they let the Leafs crush them, and Travis wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up on his couch. So he did. He’d been saving the remainder of his birthday cake for a rainy day, and while it wasn’t physically raining, Travis thought it raining like, emotionally, would still count. So he cut himself a slice, pulled off his pants, and settled down into his bed, turning on the TV to browse Netflix.

“Are you eating cake in bed?” How Nolan could be so insanely big but move so fucking quietly Travis never fucking knew. His eyes flicked from the television screen to his friend and back.

“Uh-huh” Nolan looked down onto the floor and saw Travis’ most recent pair of pants just inside the doorway.

“Without pants on?”

“Uh-huh” Nolan considered him for a minute, and walked out of the room. Travis kept eating his cake, startling when he heard a zipper and whipping his head up to see Nolan at the edge of the bed “How do you _do_ that?” Travis asked shocked, more than a little embarrassed that Nolan had snuck up on him once again.

“Do what, be quiet?” Nolan snorted as he pulled his pants down his legs, stepping out of them. “Move over” he grunted, climbing into the bed next to Travis, holding his own slice of cake.

“Pat I swear if you took the last piece of my fucking cake-”

“Chill I left you some, Jesus.” The boys settled in next to one another, watching Netflix instead of exchanging words, until Nolan reached out and patted Travis on his knee, leaving his _giant_ hand there. “Just gotta keep doin’ what we’re doin’” he parroted, using the same words Travis did for him during the Stadium Series game. Travis looked over to see Nolan was already looking at him, gaze open, sympathetic, almost soft. Travis nodded, cracking a smile. Nolan smiled back, squeezing Travis’ knee lightly, his normal smile back in place for the first time in a few days. They turned their attention back to the television, but Nolan kept his hand on Travis’ knee, weight warm and comfortable. Travis tried not to focus on it, but it was hard to ignore.

Nolan knew Travis was like, sad, okay? So he figured he’d just go down and check on him. Travis being sad was weird, and Nolan didn’t like it. So what if he’d do anything to make Travis happy again? Catching Travis in his bed, eating cake felt like he thought the world was ending. They weren’t out yet. It just wasn’t looking great. He climbed into bed next to Travis, thinking about how decidedly _not_ weird it was, thank you very much, and patted his knee in what he hoped was a consoling manner. He left his hand there, waiting for the moment Travis inevitably shifted it off. It never came. Nolan would be lying if he said he wasn’t like, stupidly happy about it. He knew it was way more likely that Travis just was a touchy guy then it was that he was into Nolan, there was like, negative proof that the guy even looked at other guys, but the younger guy would take what he could get. He was pretty sure he wasn’t _gay_ gay, y’know, but Travis was very attractive, and showed first hand that he would defend him no matter what, so Nolan would be stupid to _not_ want to fuck him a little bit, right? Right. Nolan had done a pretty good job at like, ignoring the obvious sex marks Travis seemed to have more and more often. It wasn’t his business. They were a reminder that he felt bad, wondering if all the time Travis had to spend helping him get over his stupid concussion was getting in the way of Travis finding somebody to bring home. Travis didn’t seem to care that Nolan was over all the time, and it wasn’t like Nolan was getting anything other than his hands recently either, but maybe Travis was more...needy. He was touchy, he probably just needed people touching him more. Nolan would put his hand on the guy’s dick right now if it wouldn’t result in Travis knocking him into next week. Really, it’s the least he could do, if he thought about it. Nolan wasn’t one to brag but usually when he was wet and turned on in the shower, it was a done deal. Except for with Travis, who remained frustratingly cool about the whole thing. So really, if Travis didn’t want to fuck Nolan in the shower, he couldn’t be into him. It was like, simple fact. So Nolan would keep his hand on Travis’ knee, and take his friend’s touches in stride when he knew they would come. He couldn't get upset about his best friend  _not_ wanting to fuck him, right? That was weird. If anything, he should be relieved, right? During the scouting combine, everyone thought he and Nico were either fucking, or wanted to fuck, and it made Nolan uncomfortable. He was relieved when they'd both awkwardly blurted out a

"I'm straight" "I don't want to fuck you" "You're not- I don't-" conversation. He hadn't even really thought about fucking any of his teammates, except G, just because he was their captain and he felt like he would be good at it. (And being honest, Nolan had a small crush since he was a teen when he saw Giroux on 24/7 and realised how much of a beauty he was.) And once he had, Nolan was really okay with G not fucking him again. Even Provy, who he'd played with back in Brandon, was someone he had decidedly  _not_ wanted to fuck. So really, he shouldn't feel a little bit disappointed that Travis hadn't cornered him somewhere and let the two of them sort it out. But he definitely was. A little bit. He just wanted that tiny bundle of fire and rage and passion directed  _towards_ him, instead of always being  _for_ him. Travis would be rough, Nolan thinks. Demanding. He'd definitely try and take charge. Nolan didn't hate it. He could tell, trying to shake the thoughts out of his head before he hardened up in  _Travis'_ bed,  _next to him_. They stayed quiet, watching Netflix for a few more moments, before Travis hooked his arm around Nolan's, resting his hand on Nolan's extended forearm, keeping his hand on his knee.

"Thanks Patty. You're so good to me." Yeah. Nolan was fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Travis being a dumbass thinking Coots is talking about cheese when he's really making fun of G for "Brioux" (Brie oooooh, anyone?) but being smart enough to notice Nolan has different smiles? There's no heterosexual explanation for that folks.  
> Nolan wanting Travis to just fuck him? Just dudes being bros.  
> Also fun fact! That tidbit in the last paragraph about Nolan thinking G is a beauty is 100% REAL! Courtesy of Nolan's old twitter account!


	14. it was only a kiss (how did it end up like this?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Flyers beat the Penguins with seconds left on the clock. Travis loves Nolan's smile, and loves even more that it's just for him.  
> The boy's dreams come true, but not in any way they expected, and the aftermath might not be worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That Penguins loss was everything I've ever wanted and I feel like the boys would be especially hype after it. Also that photo on the flyers IG of Nolan smiling tenderly at Travis and Travis being absolutely transfixed by him was the inspiration for this chapter. Thanks for being so in love boys! You make writing this easy!

They were playing the Penguins, and Travis was ready to go. He’d gotten his gear on, he’d hyped himself up, and he’d found Nolan in the hallway. Travis, in hindsight, couldn’t remember _what_ he said to Nolan. But Nolan smiled, tucking his hair behind his ear, and _oh_ . Travis put together all the smiles he’d seen Nolan pull over the last several days, with press, for photos, and with teammates. This smile, the one Travis thought was _normal_ because _he_ always saw it...he realized it was _just for him_ . Travis was transfixed. He couldn’t stop staring at his friend, as he just _smiled_ down at him, like he’d be content to just stand there in the tunnel with Travis all night.  He thought about how Nolan was always tolerant of Travis’ physical affection. More than tolerant, Travis would lean over someone to talk to Nolan on the bench just as often as Nolan would do the same to him. Nolan often came down to Travis’ apartment of his own volition, instead of Travis having to pester him to. Travis thought that Nolan smiled normally around him, but after watching him interact with their teammates, the equipment guys, the press... _That_ smile was the normal smile. The one Nolan gave to Travis was like...like…- _Like the way G smiled at Danny._ Travis was vaguely aware of a camera somewhere in their vicinity, but he was lost. He felt like staring at that smile, at the crinkles around Nolan’s eyes, at that nervous tic he had of brushing his hair back, somehow nothing else existed or mattered. He let out a small huff, giving Nolan a small shy smile of his own. Travis wasn’t sure he was right about this, but he thought it definitely was worth exploring. Not now though, he knew they’d need to do this slowly, tactfully, and like, talk, first. So, Travis shifted his focus to the game. The Penguins were gonna go _down_. The fuckin’ nerds.

They were down, _again_ . They tied the game with under 30 seconds left in regulation, _again_ . They scored to win the game on OT, _again_ . No matter that it had happened before, Travis was just as ecstatic as if it was the first time. He was singing, he was dancing, he ran around the locker room. The flu was ravaging their team and they _still_ thrashed the Penguins. Travis was flying high, he saw Nolan across the room, grinning at him with _that smile_ , and well, Travis wasn’t known for thinking anything through. He launched himself at Nolan, arms going around his neck as he jumped on him and crashed their lips together. There was no finesse, no sparks, it was just very...warm. Travis pulled back, staring at Nolan, who was looking up at him from where he’d caught Travis, purely on instinct. Nolan’s cheeks were a dark red, his mouth hanging open. Nolan seemed to get it, get _him_ , all the same.

“Oh thank god”. Travis felt Nolan be the one to crush their lips together this time. His lips were chapped, but Travis knew his weren’t much better.  Travis moved one of his hands up to run them through Nolan’s hair, hearing him gasp into Travis’ mouth when he got hit in the back. _What the fuck?_ He pulled back and seemed to remember where they were. He jumped off of Nolan and turned around, looking up and seeing his teammates staring at them. Travis stood protectively in front of Nolan, hand wrapped tightly around the younger boy’s wrist. Jake let out a surprisingly loud laugh, Coots grinned and shook his head, and G rolled his eyes.

“No one fucking cares, boys, just save it for when you get home, yeah?” Nolan sounded like he was choking behind Travis. Travis looked down and saw someone’s glove, he kicked it out to the center of the room. They all went back to their postgame celebration, paying the two youngsters no mind, except for a reminder that the media would be in soon. Travis vaguely heart Hartman ask “Is this like, a regular thing, or...?” Travis turned back to Nolan, who was probably the reddest he had ever seen him, and watched him dutifully stare at the ground. Well. Travis definitely just made this awkward. _Fuck I was supposed to try and talk to him first_ . He knew that Nolan was a private guy, and probably didn’t want to have the _entire team_ know about his private love life right away, but Travis held onto the small hope that came with the knowledge that _Nolan_ initiated the second kiss. If they could be called kisses, and not just the crazed, frantic mashing of lips. Nolan sat down and focused on undoing his skates, sitting back and finally looking up when the helmet was being handed off. Travis watched him stare at Carter while he put the helmet on. Travis looked over to Carter. _Fuck._ Travis didn’t really _look_ at the guys in the locker room, but he knew that sometimes Nolan did, and well, Carter had _plenty_ to look at. Travis couldn’t help but get defensive, and maybe a little jealous, when he saw Nolan’s eyes flicking over Carter’s form. The kid was absolutely shredded, he had a six pack that every teen boy dreamed of having, and Travis almost choked when he saw the undeniable form in the goalie’s spandex. He watched Carter and Nolan exchange looks, and Travis sat back, a little dejected. He didn’t have a six pack like that. He knew that Nolan and Carter had rapidly become friends, bonding when they were both out for injuries, and Travis knew now that his unwarranted unexplained anger towards the goalie sprouted from a place of jealousy. If Nolan was into dudes, Hartsy would certainly be, like, the prime dude to be into. Travis looked over to Nolan, going to jostle him with his shoulder.

Nolan almost jumped at the contact. He shuffled in place for a few moments, before quickly discarding the rest of his gear and heading to the showers. Travis followed a few minutes after, feeling slightly desperate. _I just fucked that up didn’t I_. He got into the showers and kept his distance, shooting glances over at Nolan as he soaped himself up. Carter approached Nolan in the showers and Travis almost screamed. He watched Nolan chuckle at something the goalie said. Hartsy was sporting a broad smile, his hand going up to lightly grip Nolan’s bicep. Travis couldn’t watch any longer when he saw Carter’s smile turn a little predatory, he turned away and focused on his own shower.

Nolan was dreaming. He had to be, right? Travis had launched himself at him, Nolan caught him, of course, and then Travis had crashed their lips together and run a hand through Nolan’s hair. Nolan was glad Travis had pulled away when he did, or he and the rest of the locker room would be very aware of Nolan’s rapidly growing problem. He heard G tell them to save it for when they got home, and he nodded to himself. Nolan was grateful it wasn’t, like, a _thing_ . Nolan wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle Travis touching him any more tonight without absolutely losing control, so he sat back and focused on everyone else in the locker room for once. Hartsy got the helmet, which he deserved. He and Carter exchanged glances, Carter’s seeming to _scream_ “Not surprised” and Nolan’s was an entirely too giddy “shut the fuck up”. He decided he’d shower and change so they could get out of there as fast as possible. Nolan wanted nothing more than to go back home, drag Travis into bed, and not let him out ever again. He kept his shower colder than he’d like, laughing when Hartsy came over and chirped at him about it.

“Guess now I know why he’s been so angry Patty. Your boy’s been _jealous_ ” Carter grinned wide as Nolan chuckled at him, shaking his head.

“No way, you know how TK is he’s just...feisty.” Nolan couldn’t help but get caught on the words _your boy_. G had been referring to Travis as Nolan’s boy for a long time, had he known? No, no way. How could G know if Nolan himself didn’t know? Carter brought his hand up to Nolan’s bicep, gripping it lightly but making sure Nolan heard him.

“Dude, he almost bit my head off when I offered to help you during your concussion, and when he found out we’re friends. He’s definitely territorial.” Carter’s smile turned wicked. “You’ve got it pretty bad too bud...cold shower? Really?”

“Shut up” Nolan grumbled, pushing on Carter’s chest and going back to his shower. He wrapped it up and headed back to his stall, changing back into his game-day suit. A shadow fell over him. Nolan looked up and saw G standing in front of him, soft smile on his face. Nolan flushed and looked back down to his feet. Claude put a hand on Nolan’s shoulder.

“Don’t sweat it Patty, everyone knows to keep quiet. Just try and keep the PDA out of the locker room, yeah? Oh, and make sure your boy knows how to be safe.” Nolan’s face was redder than a fire truck as he nodded, mumbling something Claude couldn’t quite catch. Claude knelt down in front of Nolan then, knowing that he should probably share some of his personal experience. "Listen. That guy who came in the other day? You know him?" Nolan nodded vigorously

"Danny Briere"

"Yeah" Claude continued, unable to help the tiny, dreamy sigh he let out. "He and I...well, we've been  _involved_ for a while now. I moved in with him during one season, and it took us a while to figure our shit out, but everybody on the team knew to keep quiet. Hell, the only ones left are Jakey and Coots, and they'll rib me for it sure, but I also know they'd fuckin kill anybody who tried anything because of who Danny and I are, yeah? So...you're not the first, you won't be the last, it's fine." He stopped and let Nolan digest everything. The kid was floored.  _G? Really? With Danny Briere? Holy shit._ Nolan just stared at Claude, wide-eyed.

"You?" was all Nolan seemed to be able to get out of his mouth.

"Yeah Patty." G smiled at him, standing up and ruffling his hair. "Lemme know if you have any questions, yeah?" was what he left the young forward with before walking back to his own stall.

Nolan, feeling awkward and like everyone was watching him, decided to just wait out by the bus. Travis would come out to meet him there, and they’d all board the plane to head home. _Should I like...hold his hand? No, that’s weird._ So Nolan waited by the bus, and saw all their teammates file out and hop on. It felt like forever until he saw Travis slowly make his way out of the building. He flushed a deep red, knowing it probably went all the way down to his chest, and shot Travis a shy smile. Once he saw Travis coming, he’d hightailed it onto the bus, grabbing a seat. He kept the one next to him open so Travis could sit there if he wanted. Nolan wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to handle himself on the way back to Philly. _Maybe he’d be down to make out in the plane bathroom_ .  As soon as he thought that, his face scrunched up. _Ew, no, that’d be gross. And we wouldn’t both fit. Never mind_.

Travis was panicking. Nolan had kissed him and then just flat out _ignored him_ . To make matters worse, he immediately cozied up to fucking Carter! Was it because Carter was shredded? Was it because Carter had a massive dick? Was it because Carter was _a nicer person_ than Travis? Carter was definitely _smarter_ than Travis, but Carter was smarter than a lot of people, most likely Nolan included. And Nolan never really made him feel stupid. Maybe for Nolan it was just a high off of winning. The thought made something distinctly unpleasant twist in Travis’ gut. He should apologize, for kissing Nolan. Even if he didn’t want to, it was clear that Nolan was uncomfortable with the way he’d avoided him in the locker room. He slowly made his way to the bus, seeing Nolan there. Nolan, upon seeing Travis, flushed and sent him what looked like a strained smile. _Oh god_ . Travis watched him turn and get on the bus, finding a seat. As Travis approached him on the bus, he saw Nolan’s face scrunch up in disgust. _Oh no what if he hates me_. Travis stood there in the aisle, looking around. There were other seats, but would it be weird if he sat in them? Where was Hartsy? Would Nolan want to sit with him instead? Before he could check, Jake said

“Sit the fuck down TK let’s go home, I hate shittsburgh” Travis flushed as the rest of the team hooted and hollered, Nolan seemingly finally looking up at Travis, that weird smile back on his face.

“Uh...can I sit? With you? It’s okay if you don’t want me to! It’s just that nobody else makes as fire playlists as you and-”  Nolan’s smile almost looked more normal for a second, but before Travis could finish he felt himself get launched forwards into the seat, falling onto Nolan. Nolan’s arms were out to catch him instantly, as he grunted a little bit from the impact. Travis tried to look up but Nolan was holding him tight. _This works too this is good_ Travis thought. Nolan hauled him up, so they were face to face. Both boys flushed deeply as Travis sprang back, spewing apologies and settling in his seat. He didn’t get to look at who pushed him into the row, but whatever. Nolan was letting him stay, he couldn’t hate him, right? Nolan pushed one of his earbuds into Travis’ hand. Travis took it and put it in, letting himself relax marginally. Nolan seemed to be thinking hard, so Travis just let him be. They stayed quiet for the entire way back to Philly, Travis trying to figure out how best to apologize. Nolan, while clearly okay with Travis’ presence in the seat next to him, seemed tense as well. They got off the plane and grabbed their stuff, heading back over to the car. Nolan had driven, and Travis was thankful for it. It meant that Nolan still had to focus on the road, and not killing the two of them. Travis knew a car confession was a cop-out, but what the fuck else was he supposed to do? He was sad that Nolan seemed uninterested in him, but he could go back to just being bros, that was fine. They got in the car, and Nolan seemed to relax as soon as it was just the two of them. Travis didn’t know why he was so worried. This was _Nolan_. He’d understand. He steeled himself, and finally spoke up.

“Patty?”

“Yeah?”

“I just...want to say I’m sorry. For, y’know, earlier. I was just excited about the win, and you were there, and I didn’t even think about it. So. Really, it doesn’t - doesn’t mean anything, obviously, you’re still my best friend. Just. Yeah. Sorry.” He hoped by explaining that what had come over Nolan had just come over him as well, it’d be able to be brushed off and forgotten.

How Nolan managed to keep his cool and not crash the car was astounding. He’d barely contained himself from touching Travis all night, and finally got into the car with him. Nolan had even put his right hand off the wheel and on the center console between them, in case Travis wanted to like, hold it, or something. But Travis telling him the kiss didn’t mean anything? That it was just post-game excitement? Nolan felt a himself close the world off, surely it was ending. But he made sure to keep his face cool, impassive. Travis still wanted to be friends. That was fine, that was cool. They’ve been friends, they can keep being friends. Nolan forced a smile onto his face and directed it at Travis as he pulled into the parking garage.

“No problem, we’re cool.” His voice sounded strange even to his own ears, but he shoved it aside, bidding Travis a quick goodnight and all but running to his apartment.

Travis saw Nolan give him his _press smile_ instead of his _Travis smile_ , and Travis felt like part of him was going to scream. Nolan’s voice sounded off, too, and he ran up to his own apartment instead of lingering to hang out in Travis’ like they usually did. Travis put his head in his hands when he got back to his place. Clearly he and Nolan _weren’t_ as cool as he thought.

They didn’t hang out on their off day, which they normally did. Both boys moping in their own apartments, thinking about how they totally blew it. They both checked their instagram DM’s, picked girls to fuck their frustrations away with, and finished the day feeling more frustrated than before, at the fact that a full make out and sex session with a beautiful woman didn’t excite them as much as awkward harried lip pressure from their best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well! They kissed! And they fucking loved it! But they don't know how to talk so they might've fucked it up!  
> They WILL get there eventually I PROMISE they're just being beyond stupid.  
> Sometimes you just kiss your bro on the lips because you're so gosh darned happy, right? What's a excited passionate kiss between friends?  
> "nobody else makes as fire playlists as you" is about to be a line I use IRL tbh...  
> Also! Boys being sad that the beautiful woman they're fucking isn't their bestest buddy? That's gay, folks!


	15. The Flu(ke?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis and Nolan deal with Travis having the flu. And absolutely nothing else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't take all the drugs mentioned in this at the same time I have no idea if you can or not!  
> Something about two guys in their 20s trying to deal with the flu with no adult supervision made me feel that I needed to write this. Having been in college I feel like this is somewhat accurate as to what would actually happen.

The day off dragged on forever, sexual encounter included, and Travis decided to settle down for a nap to pass the time. He woke up feeling like absolute trash. The flu had been running rampant through their team, fuck, G needed an IV for when they played the Pens, but Travis didn’t think he’d get it.  _ I wonder if Patty feels like shit too _ . Travis’ heart hurt a little bit at the thought of his best friend, a few floors up, and not down with Travis where he belonged. He’d have to come down eventually. They had like, rituals, and stuff. Besides, Nolan didn’t know how to tie a tie, so it fell to Travis. Not that he was sure he wanted Nolan to come down and catch the flu, but it was the principle of the thing. Travis texted G, and told him he wasn’t sure if he’d make it to the game the next day, since he now had the flu. If he was feeling better tomorrow, he’d go, but if not he was going to try and rest up and kick this flu’s ass. He settled back under the covers and let himself go back to sleep.

Nolan woke up from a nap feeling ready. Ready to push aside his stupid feelings about his best friend, ready for the game tomorrow, and ready to keep going on this playoff push. He took a deep breath and got out of bed, heading down to Travis’ apartment. He’d see if he wanted to play videogames or something. Stupid, mindless video games. Something that would stop the constant replay of Travis’ lips on his, hands in his hair, legs around his waist, and something that would let him ignore the fact that he was going to try and spend the whole day giving Travis space. When Nolan entered, it was strangely quiet, for the early afternoon. Nolan made his way to Travis’ bedroom and opened the door. He saw his friend nestled in the pile of blankets, the room feeling stuffy. Nolan reached out and ever so lightly brushed his fingers through Travis’ hair, pausing and holding his palm against his friend’s forehead. He felt like, really warm. Travis, though still asleep, let out a tiny whine, which totally didn’t make Nolan decide to run out and get soup and gatorade. Had Travis been like this all day? Had Nolan completely ignored his best friend in his hour of need? He thought the guy wanted some space, but clearly Nolan should’ve swallowed his fucking pride and checked in earlier, despite already lasting less then a day without him. Once he came back, he snagged an orange out of the kitchen and sat at the edge of Travis’ bed, reaching out to shake his slumbering friend.

“Mmmph?” Travis sounded not unlike a cat, and Nolan pushed down the soft feeling it gave him. He liked cats. And Travis. The older boy cracked his eyes open, a smile coming onto his face. He was flushed, most likely from the sickness, but that feeling in Nolan had him wishing it was for him.

“You’re here” Travis sounded like shit. Nolan smiled at him though, showing that he had soup and gatorade, putting them on the nightstand.

“Ugh, what’d I do to deserve you?”

“No idea, bud.” Travis sat up a little bit, reaching for the gatorade. Nolan uncapped it for him and handed it over. “How do you feel?”

“Like shit. What about you? Are you-”

“I feel fine.” Travis was happy Nolan wasn’t sick, but was miserable that he didn’t have anyone to be miserable with. Though it was a relief that whatever had gotten Travis, hadn’t gotten Nolan, despite the night in Pittsburgh. He drained the gatorade and reached for the soup. Nolan gently handed it to him, leaning back on the headboard. Travis downed half of it and handed it back, looking up at Nolan and giving him a shy smile. He was really worried about them after Nolan had run away last night, and sealed himself up in his apartment all morning. He shouldn’t have doubted him. Nolan always had his back. He was just happy that the guy was  _ here _ in Travis’ bedroom with him,  _ not _ ignoring him anymore, and not acting super weird. Travis wasn’t sure he’d have been able to handle all that on top of being sick. 

Nolan thought it was unfair and honestly really dumb how Travis looked like shit yet Nolan still wanted to absolutely wreck him. Like, that wasn’t normal, right? Nolan shouldn’t still be finding Travis attractive when he looked like hell, right? Travis’ smile didn’t light up his whole face like it usually did. It was smaller, more subdued. Nolan knew it was because he was feeling awkward about last night, but he still wished he could blame it on the sickness. He thought about just like,  _ telling _ Travis. The guy was pretty out of it. He probably wouldn’t remember it. And if it went well? Nolan would just repeat himself later. Nolan felt himself flush, he shifted slightly closer to Travis.

“Hey Teeks, I uh-” was all Nolan managed to get out before Travis’ phone rang. They both groaned as they searched the bed for it, Nolan finding it half buried under a pillow and handing it over. Travis answered with a croaked out “hey G” Nolan couldn’t hear what Claude was saying, but Travis’ response of

“No, I did feel worse when I first woke up, but then Patty brought some soup and stuff and has been taking care of me. It’s helped a bit.” Nolan flushed deeply, an unbidden smile coming to his face as he was hearing Travis sing his praises to their captain. He was brought out of his daze when Travis was waving his phone in Nolan’s face. “G wants to talk to you. He’s being weird and I don’t have the energy to deal with it.” Nolan nodded and took the phone

“Yeah?” He heard G’s voice, sounding what Nolan would guess was close to smug, on the line.

“Christ Patty, you really did a number on him huh? He sounds worse then you did after I was finished with you.” Nolan had to take several moments to let the captain’s words sink in.

“G what the fuck are you talking about?”

“His voice. You must’ve really got down deep to make him sound that bad. Not that I’m surprised. Kid’s been following you around like a puppy since you got here, he probably jumped at the chance to choke himself on your dick and then thanked you when you were done with him.” Nolan himself almost choked at Claude’s comments, feeling grateful that Travis had busied himself with peeling the orange Nolan had gotten him earlier.

“N-no, G, that’s not-  _ he’s really sick _ ” Nolan was mortified. He didn’t even know where to begin with correcting the captain, who kept rambling on.

“Look. Kid. Don’t sweat it, the same thing happened the first time I slept with Danny. My throat hurt, I was sore, and I woke up feeling too warm. It was just because we’d fucked a shit ton and he shoved his dick down my throat, and we fell asleep together. It’s not a big deal. I get how it can be alarming the first time or two.” Nolan should have been given a fucking award for how well he was keeping his shit together. He was staring at Travis as he pulled the skin off the orange, listening to G talk about all the ways he thought Nolan thoroughly destroyed the winger the night before. Unable to take it any longer, but  _ desperately _ not wanting Travis to know the nature of the conversation, Nolan offered to send G Travis’ temperature, with a firm

“He’s  _ really sick _ , G.” Claude chuckled at that and gave his goodbyes, disconnecting the call. Nolan looked back up and Travis had one of his orange wedges in his mouth between his lips, grinning at him.

“Patty! Look at me!” was Travis’ muffled outburst at Nolan, who stared at him for a full minute before shoving him over to the other side of the bed.

“Stupid. Do you have a thermometer? How long have you even been like this?” He knew he opened himself up to it the second he said it. Travis’ quieter-than-normal-yet-somehow-still-louder-than-he-should-be voice belted out an “I woke up like this” as Nolan groaned and went into the bathroom.

“How do you not have a fucking thermometer”

“ _ Do you? _ ”

“...No” Nolan stepped back into the bedroom, seeing Travis working on his soup. “Okay. I’m gonna go-”

“Nooo” Travis whined. Nolan huffed.

“Let me finish, dumbass. I’m gonna go  _ get some cold medicine shit _ , a thermometer, and like, whatever the fuck else you need, probably.” Travis nodded. He looked  _ bad _ . He could barely talk, it was more of a croak. He was pale and sweaty and the longer Nolan listened to him cough the more he was convinced he’d hack up a lung.

“If you could get a couple more oranges, that’d be nice” Travis coughed out. Nolan nodded and left as Travis managed to cough, choke, and sneeze all at the same time.  _ **Oh my god someone please send help we are going to** **die.**  _ _ Oh my god what if he actually dies. Oh my god what if I have to call his mom and tell him he died. Oh my god. What the fuck am I gonna do. I can’t call his fucking mom and tell her he’s dead oh my god.  _ Nolan left the apartment and went to the nearest CVS. He grabbed a thermometer, nyquil, dayquil, zzzquil, zicam, tylenol, mucinex, and nine cans of soup. It was probably too much but he was fucking 20 and trying to figure out how to deal with deadly disease with no adult supervision. He went into the Wawa on the corner.  _ He wanted oranges. Okay. How many oranges? Fuck it, I’ll just get him all of them _ . Nolan stuffed 37 oranges into a bag and headed back home. Travis was asleep when he got there. He stacked all the oranges up on his bed and went into the bathroom to put all the cold medication and the thermometer in the cabinet. He went back out into the kitchen and put all the soup on the counter. He left the bedroom door open, so he heard when Travis croaked out

“I knew this would happen.” Nolan totally  _ did not _ run into the bedroom to see Travis staring at the pile of oranges. He flushed.  _ Maybe _ he went a little overboard. But oranges were supposed to be good for you! So really you couldn’t have too many. Travis looked up at him.

“I got like, all the drugs, and every soup at CVS, and Wawa didn’t have any more oranges but like, if we just give you a shit ton of cold medicine, and make you eat soup and oranges and gatorade, you’ll probably get better.”

“Oh my god you’re so smart” Nolan handed him an orange and a fresh gatorade, watching Travis suppress a shiver.

“You’re cold?”

“It’s called a cold for a reason dude”

“It’s the flu dumbass”

“Fuck off we don’t  _ know _ ”

“Everyone on our fucking team has it dude. It’s the flu.”

“Just shut up and bring me more blankets!”

“Take a shower first”

“Are you telling me I smell?”

“Well that, but also one time my mom said showering like, resets your body temperature. So if you just shower, put on warm clothes, and  _ then _ get under all your stupid blankets, you’ll be warm.” Travis groaned and crawled out of bed, starting to pull off his boxers halfway to the bathroom. “I-I’m gonna go make you some soup” Nolan said it louder then he meant it to, turning around and running into the kitchen. He was absolute shit at cooking, but he couldn’t  _ really _ fuck up soup, right? He poured the contents of one of the cans into a bowl and popped it into the microwave. He took it out and almost dropped the bowl.  _ Fuck! It’s hot. _ He then dipped his finger in the soup. It was still cold.  _ What the fuck _ . He texted his sister nothing more then the photo of the soup in the microwave and the word “help”. She responded with “use the stove stupid” and he nodded to himself. He rummaged around for a big pot and poured all of it the soup from the bowl into the pot before turning on the stove. He kept taking little spoonfuls to test temperature. Once he deemed it hot enough he poured it back into the bowl. He only spilled  _ some _ of it on the counter. He went back into Travis’ bedroom, deciding to put clean sheets on the bed. He moved all the oranges into a big bowl and left them on Travis’ bedside table. He found a set of flannel sheets and started making the bed. When Travis came out of the bathroom, heading to the hamper to pull out his warmest sweatpants and thickest long sleeve shirt. He grabbed his yellow hoodie and pulled it over top.

“Okay listen. Yes. The shower was warm. But getting in, and getting out, are  _ not warm _ so-.” He stopped when he saw Nolan, on his hands and knees on the bed, trying to get the fitted sheet over the last corner of the bed in the corner of the room. He was facing away from Travis, so he could unashamedly stare at Nolan’s ass.  _ Thank you hockey gods for the butt you have bestowed upon him and now allowed me to look at _ . “Patty  _ what _ are you doing” Nolan finished tucking the sheet in and rolled off the mattress.

“I’m putting new sheets on your bed dude, your last ones were gross. These will be clean. And warm. And stuff.” Travis nodded at him, shivering again. “Go eat your soup! It’s in the kitchen. Then you’ll take all the flu shit in the cabinet and go the fuck to bed” Travis nodded and wandered out to the kitchen, seeing all the cans of soup littered about on the counter. Travis was able to take care of himself somewhat, but still melted a little bit at all Nolan had done to take care of him. Nolan had seemed to completely overreact just like Travis did when Nolan got that slapshot to the head. Though at the time Travis thought he was being completely rational and just getting anything Nolan might possibly need. That felt like forever ago. He remembered, screaming at G.  _ They don’t understand what he means to me _ . Travis let out a low chuckle, having finally figured it out. God, he was so fucked. He should’ve just told Nolan the truth instead of lying. Nolan was  _ clearly _ okay with gay stuff since he went after G, but Nolan had just been so  _ weird _ after. He also should’ve figured it out sooner, I mean what the fuck. Whatever, he was too sick to worry about it. The soup was good, and did something nice to warm him up. He selfishly wished that he could tell Nolan he was cold and Nolan would give him his clothes and wrap him up, burrowing with him under the covers. The two could just stay there forever. Travis finished his soup and headed back to his room. Nolan was putting the extra blankets on the bed. Travis went straight to the bed and climbed in. Nolan sighed and went into the bathroom to get all the stuff he bought earlier.

“We’re gonna take your temperature, then you’re gonna take all these drugs, and then we’ll take it again tomorrow morning.”

“Can I...take all those together?”

“I mean I think so. Except for the dayquil obviously. But like, the nyquil and the zicam and the tylenol and the mucinex I think so” Travis nodded, putting all of them into his hand. Nolan stuck the thermometer in his mouth. It read 103. No wonder he felt like shit. He took all of the various medications Nolan had purchased, chased them with gatorade, ate another orange, and settled into bed.

“If I die from mixing these it’s your fault” Travis croaked out, trying to burrow himself under the sheets and leech the warmth that wasn’t there yet. He shivered. He closed his eyes, hearing Nolan bustle around the room and out into the kitchen.

Nolan was going to go back upstairs. He  _ really _ was. He knew spending the night in a bed with Travis would be dangerous. But he was worried. Travis’ fever seemed high. He wasn’t able to move quickly, and he just took a whole bunch of drugs that Nolan still wasn’t entirely sure he could take together without incident. So, steeling himself, he resolved he would stay the night. Seeing Travis shiver didn’t help. Nolan wanted nothing more then to crawl right into bed next to him and completely surround Travis. So really, what he  _ should _ do, as a teammate, is make sure Travis is okay, especially with a game tomorrow. It’s obviously the responsible adult thing to do to stay over and keep an eye on him. Nolan headed back to the bedroom and pulled off everything except his boxers. He knew he was probably going to sweat to death with all the extra blankets but it was a sacrifice he’d have to make.

Travis could feel all the cold medication making his head fuzzy. He thought he heard Nolan come back into the room, and mumbled out a “leave me to die”. So when there was a dip in the bed he wasn’t really sure if he imagined it or not. Travis cracked his eye open to see Nolan getting in on the other side of the bed. Nolan pulled the blankets back down and turned his head to see Travis looking at him.

“Gotta make sure you don’t hack up a lung in the middle of the night bud” was what he said, and it seemed like a flimsy excuse even to his own ears, but Travis seemed okay with it.

“Thanks for taking one for the team big guy, but won’t you get sick?”

“I haven’t yet, I guess I’m safe”

“Oh. Okay.” Nolan saw Travis turn onto his side, and turned away from him. He scooted over so they were back to back. He hoped his body heat would help. He also hoped by having his back away from Travis, he wouldn’t unconsciously do something embarrassing.

It didn’t work. Unconscious Travis turned over to face Nolan, seeking out the warmth. Unconscious Nolan felt Travis shivering, and turned over to pull him in closer, tangling their legs together and throwing his arm around him. Travis’ head wormed its way under Nolan’s chin, tucking himself into his chest. Travis curled into Nolan, leeching the warmth from his body. His shivering finally subsided.

Travis woke up around 5am. It was  _ so hot _ . He was sweating. He opened his eyes, but couldn’t see anything. He couldn’t move.  _ What the- _ Travis pulled his head back and saw he was eye-level with Nolan’s collar bone. If he couldn’t move before he sure as hell couldn’t now. He looked up and saw Nolan’s surgery scar. Before he could think about it, he brought his hand up and lightly traced the scar. He’d seen it plenty of times, but never touched it before. Travis wanted to kiss it. When Travis couldn’t stand the heat any longer, and the temptation to kiss Nolan’s scar grew too great, he got himself out from under the mountain of blankets and pulled off all of his layers. He heard Nolan let out a slight sleepy grumble that sounded suspiciously like his name. Travis grabbed his gatorade and downed the entire thing. He was so thirsty. He grabbed another orange, peeling it quickly and eating it. He wasn’t a doctor, but he was pretty sure his fever was probably gone. He ate the orange just to be safe. It was so hot. Nolan’s arm patted around the bed, searching for the body that used to be there. Travis felt overheated, maybe because the fever broke but also because watching Nolan, still unconscious but  _ searching for him _ made him way too warm. He went back into the kitchen and grabbed another gatorade, quickly draining that one too. He leaned back against the kitchen counter, surface feeling cool on his skin. As he cooled down, he missed the warmth of his bed. And the man that he left sleepily grumbling in there. He went back into his bedroom, tucking himself back in under his sheets. He left space between him and Nolan, knowing the guy would probably freak a little bit if he woke up to find a potentially still sick Travis Konecny all up on him. They’d fallen asleep together before obviously, and they fell asleep back to back, so clearly this sleeping arrangement was something both of them cultivated together, but Travis was still cautious after the other night. He fell asleep stretched out on his stomach, eventually rolling onto his side, back to Nolan. His sleep addled mind woke him up when he felt a big, heavy hand smack around him a few times before wrapping around his waist and pulling him in. Travis flushed and melted into Nolan’s chest, grin lighting up his face. Usually Travis was the big spoon, but he could handle being the little spoon on this one occasion.  _ I should tell him that I meant it. If this could be like, a normal thing _ ...He fell asleep fast, letting Nolan’s heavy weight make him feel calm. When Travis woke up next, he was alone. He was a little disappointed. He knew he was being greedy, wanting nothing more then a day in bed with Nolan.  _ I should tell him _ . He got up and grabbed another orange, looking up when he heard Nolan come in. He greeted him, letting himself look for a minute.  _ I should tell him _ . As soon as he opened his mouth though, Nolan threw a gatorade at him and ran into the bathroom. Travis deflated a little bit. He should’ve woken up first and separated them. Nolan probably woke up and freaked out that suddenly Travis was basically naked and cuddled up with him. He’d wait until it was a better time.

Nolan woke up and immediately knew he’d moved when he was asleep. The fact that Travis was still facing away from him made Nolan worry he’d been the only one who moved, but then he saw Travis was down to his boxers. He must’ve gotten up at some point in the night. Nolan felt useless. The whole reason he slept here was so he could keep an eye on Travis, and he slept through Travis getting up and taking off his layers.  _ Wait _ . Was Travis not shivering? Was he warm? Was he not cold anymore? Did he feel better? Nolan climbed out of bed away from Travis. As much as he wanted to soak up the feel of Travis there with him, he knew he couldn’t stay like that. Travis probably never moved, honestly, the guy slept like he was dead, it was probably just Nolan feeling Travis come back to bed and rolling over to grab him, because he was dumb. It was good Nolan woke up first, or it could’ve been a disaster.  He went into the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer, bringing it back to the bedroom. He meandered into the kitchen and grabbed himself a gatorade, sitting down on the couch. He should just buck up and tell Travis, before Travis finds out anyway. Though if Travis was feeling better, and actually coherent, Nolan’s courage was out the window. Maybe he’d tell him when they’re drunk. That always ends well. He heard Travis up and moving around, and went back into the bedroom with a gatorade in hand. Travis looked up from where he was hunched over an orange.

“Hey” Christ he even  _ sounded _ better. Travis was looking at him, and Nolan grew uncomfortable under Travis’ stare. He looked like he was thinking about something. “Hey...Patty?” Nolan panicked.  _ He knows _ . Nolan tossed him the gatorade and went into the bathroom again to grab the dayquil.

“We should take your temperature. You sound better but you’re probably still feeling a little bit like shit.” Travis sighed and took his temperature. 100. It was going down, bit by bit. Nolan gave him the dayquil and he took it without question. “How you feel? You ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let’s play.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're so gay oh my god. Nolan getting 37 oranges is peak 20 year old gay kid panicking and you can't convince me otherwise. I get sick a lot and zicam is there for me every time! This isn't even an ad or anything I just love zicam.


	16. You're on my Heart Just Like a Tattoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys lose some hockey games, Nolan gets a tattoo, and then they play the Leafs. In that order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title courtesy of Jordin Sparks song Tattoo! Get it? Cause Nolan's tattoo has a heart? And he got a tattoo? Get it?

They lost to the Habs. It was embarrassing. Travis knew the team was sick, and it showed. Despite him telling Oskar “Yeah I  _ was _ sick, but then I had some oranges and now I think I’m better” and Oskar nodding thoughtfully, responding “Yeah...I guess that makes sense”, they were sloppy. What he hated more though was all the looks Hartman was giving he and Patty. They weren’t heated, or malicious, more just curious. Just watching. Nobody else paid them any mind, but he forgot that since Hartman was still the new guy he wasn’t used to their antics. After the Blackhawks game, when Travis and Nolan had both gotten so caught up in trying to pass to one another to get the other man to score that they  _ missed the empty net _ (it didn’t matter, they were already winning) Hartman had skated up near Travis, taking the time to come up to him and quietly, almost bashfully, say

“You’re good together.” Travis was already flushed, but he ducked his head. He was a little annoyed that Nolan wouldn’t just  _ score _ , he kept passing it to him for fuck’s sake, why did he keep passing it  _ back _ ? It sort of became a minor flirtation, maybe, on Travis’ part. But still! Nolan should’ve fucking scored instead of just passing it right back! Unless he wanted Travis to score...but that’s stupid Patty should’ve just fucking scored. He hadn’t in a little while, and this was a good chance. Travis let Hartman’s comment roll around in his head as he and Nolan tucked into one another on the plane back home. He  _ knew _ they were good together. That’s why when Nolan all but ignored him after the pittsburgh game it hurt differently. It hurt somewhere deep inside. 

They lost to the Islanders, which  _ shouldn’t have happened _ , but for whatever reason it did. Then, they lost to the Capitals, and while it wasn’t as much of a blowout as Travis was expecting, he was still disappointed as he watched their ever slimming playoff hopes grow impossibly small. When he and Nolan finally got back to their apartment Travis crashed right onto the couch, Nolan going into the kitchen and grabbing some shot glasses, Travis’ vodka, and a couple beers. Travis grunted in thanks as Nolan poured them what was probably going to be too many shots, but they didn’t have a game until Wednesday. The afternoon was young, and so were they. So they pounded shots, drank beers, and caused a ruckus around the apartment, trying to fight back the rising bitterness that was their sinking playoff ship. They spent the next few days like that. Like with most things, they managed together. They played video-games poorly, they got in fights that devolved into wrestling matches over the best way to consume an egg, and they each found any excuse they could to touch one another, or accidentally land their lips on an exposed patch of foreign skin. Both thinking  _ he’s too drunk to notice, and I’m just drunk enough it could actually be passed off as an accident _ . There were far too many moments where eye contact lasted just too long, looked too open and honest and vulnerable, that one of them would blink and look away, afraid the other would see and find out what they had both yet to be brave enough to say. They slumped close together on the couch, and by the Tuesday before the leafs game, Travis had almost confessed to Nolan on four separate occasions, before he chickened out. Nolan had almost talked to Travis twice, before he thought better of it.

“I wanna get another tattoo”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah”

“Let’s go”

“I can’t bring you it’s a secret” Travis rolled his eyes.

“Whatever” Nolan headed over to the tattoo parlor. He greeted everybody there, explaining what he wanted quickly. They got him set up right away, and he walked out later that day with fresh ink on his thigh. He came home and bust right through the door, catching Travis napping on the couch.

Travis woke up at Nolan’s sudden entrance. His eyes snapped to him, giving him a once-over. His eyes stopped at the tattoo on his thigh. His bulging, pale, muscular thigh. He wanted to run his tongue over it. Somewhere in his head his mother’s voice chimed in telling him that was probably unsanitary, but he shoved that aside.

“What kinda shitty secret is that? It’s huge!” Nolan rolled his eyes and landed on the couch next to Travis. Travis reached across him to poke it, but Nolan snatched his wrist

“No” Travis groaned and leaned back, passing his friend the second controller.

 

They were playing the Leafs. This could be it. If they lose tonight in regulation, they’re out. Nolan tried not to do the math or think about it too much. Math was always a battle for him. He didn’t know if Travis was keeping track. He thought he might be, but he dared not ask. They both knew it was slim chances, in any event. They walked into the stadium together, their other teammates scattered in clusters around them. They suited up, keeping one another’s spirits light with occasional jabs and minor roughhousing. Nolan still lost a little bit of his cool when he saw how serious Travis looked. Serious was a strange look on Travis, usually he was the jokester. But seriousness looked  _ good _ on him all the same. Nolan had long since realized that almost everything looked good on Travis. He was beginning to realize that really, it wasn’t necessarily Travis in certain situations that he liked, but just  _ Travis _ . As a whole entire human being. As the chaotic force of nature that he was. Nolan knew tensions would be high this game. Their playoff hopes were riding on this game,  _ really every game _ at this point. They were getting punchy.

The first period had them down. They had only had a few very minor scuffles, somehow. The horn blared to signal the end of the period and Nolan waddled down the hallway. He saw Travis at the other end, smile coming up onto their faces as they saw one another. He brushed his gloved hand against Travis’ face visor in teasing, shuffling over to their stalls and pulling off his gloves and helmet. Travis fell in beside him, breathing hard and jostling him with his shoulder. He looked serious again. Nolan just wanted Travis to relax and have fun. He played better when he was more relaxed. Nolan jostled him back, wiggling wildly and hearing Oskar chuckle at their antics from his other side. Travis’ smile cracked through his serious facade and Nolan grinned. Making Travis smile always made Nolan happy. Travis smiled easily, but being able to be the reason he smiled still settled something deep within him. The two just looked at one another, grinning.

Travis looked at Nolan smiling away at him without a care in the world, and felt like he could  score a hattrick unassisted. Nolan had been looking at him differently after the Penguins game, and he thought it was because Nolan was pulling back, not cool with Travis’ advances, but then Nolan had come back, had leaned back into Travis. He had his Travis smile back. The horn blared for their second period. That was the period Travis scored. He sliced past the leafs, banking right and firing one right off from inside the circle. It slipped past the goalie and he got them on the board.

Nolan saw Travis’ play to score. He had been scoreless lately, Nolan thought he’d he fucking pumped. Travis wasn’t smiling.  _ Fuck he’s hot _ . Nolan watched the replay on the jumbotron and saw it zoom in on Travis getting congratulated by sanheim and laughts.  _ Still so serious. _ He wanted to get Travis to just  _ relax _ . He had some ideas but that would require them to be back in their apartment and Travis to  _ want _ Nolan’s mouth on him. He forced himself to rid the thoughts from his mind. He was here to play hockey. Once Travis scored it seemed to open the floodgates. They kept scoring after that, until they were inside a minute left in the second and they were up by one. The leafs were getting punchy too, Nolan could tell. That was fine, he could bring it if it was necessary. He clearly had gotten too close to Andersen, because within the final seconds of the period Nolan was staring down the three leafs players that were surrounding him. He smirked as they held him, chirping at them. He didn’t need to initiate, the last thing they needed was to start their next period on the penalty kill against the fucking leafs. He was looking down at Zaitsev, so he saw it as soon as it happened. Travis, zooming in like always, jumping on the guy from behind, wrapping his arms around the assailant’s neck and tugging back. His impact drifted the cluster closer to the boards, and Nolan made eye contact with him and almost dropped his jaw. Travis had  _ that _ look in his eye again.  _ Force of nature _ . Zaitsev was still running his mouth, Marleau and Petan pulling Nolan farther away from Zaitsev, from  _ Travis _ , who was pulling Zaitsev away from Nolan. Nolan spat fire right back at him, trying to keep his head from spinning from Travis’ heavy gaze. He could barely see it around the taller opponent’s helmet, but it made something warm and heavy curl in his gut. He saw Travis get pulled away by some other leafs and make some swings, despite the linesmen in between them.  _ God _ he wanted to suck his dick so bad. They pulled everyone apart and played the final four seconds, and the only thing keeping Nolan from getting hard when Travis grabbed him and pulled the two of them down the tunnel for intermission was how  _ uncomfortable _ it was to get a hard on in a jock. He was glad he had the last shift on the ice because his deep flush could one hundred percent be blamed on that, and  _ not _ how bad he wanted Travis to manhandle him onto his knees. Travis’ low growl asking if he was alright and his tightened grip around Nolan’s wrist went  _ straight _ to his dick, he tried to shift into a more comfortable position but to no avail. He gasped out an affirmation and swallowed, nodding.

Travis scored, but they were still down. He got to the bench to celebrate with his boys and he locked eyes with Nolan. He took one look at Travis and  _ licked his lips _ . Now, Nolan licked his lips a lot, Travis knew, because he always ended up staring at him when he did, but he hadn’t done it while looking  _ at _ Travis.  _ Oh  _ **_fuck_ ** **.** Why did Nolan have to be so fucking hot? All the time? It was really messing with Travis’ ability to focus. It worked to his advantage when they were on a line together, Travis’ ability to always fucking know where Nolan was every second paid off more often then not, including  _ right fucking now _ , when Nolan was surrounded by four different leafs players. Travis’ only coherent thoughts were purely possessive, purely spitfire and rage at how  _ dare _ anyone else  _ ever _ touch Nolan. He beelined, like he always has, into the fray for Nolan, jumping up, landing on the perpetrator, and yanking him away from  _ his _ center. His eyes caught Nolan’s ever so briefly, hard, glinting, yet still amused. Nolan’s voice was low and venomous, and for a guy who usually didn’t get into it much with other players, hearing Nolan get into it always turned Travis on a little bit. He channeled his newfound energy into fighting all the players that were trying to pull at him. The linesmen finally pulled him away, he looked around for Nolan who was up against the boards, looking at him eyes wide and hair wild.  _ Fuck he’s  _ **_so hot_ ** _ what the hell _ . They finished the final seconds and Travis grabbed Nolan straight away, the ugly and unsettled feeling he had when Nolan was under attack fading away as he felt his pulse strong and fast under his fingers. He dragged him down the tunnel to the locker room and only when they were in the safety of their stalls did he let himself speak. His voice was still laced with anger.

“Did they hurt you? Are you good?” Travis saw Nolan swallow and nod, gasping out an

“I’m good” Travis slumped into his stall, feeling Nolan slump down beside him. He was slightly concerned that once he’d really figured out he was into Nolan he’d have gotten even worse about the scrums, but that one was...exactly the same.  _ I knew he could handle himself, I just went in because it’s  _ **_Patty_ ** _.  _ And as that thought crossed Travis’ mind he recalled that  _ every time _ he jumped in was the same way. He didn’t ever really jump in unless Nolan was the target. Hell he was on a line with G and Reemer, or Laughts and Hartman and he  _ never _ jumped anybody, but the second someone started shit with Patty his entire brain shifted into overdrive and he got scrummy.  _ Oh shit _ . He looked over at his best friend, who was absentmindedly scratching at his jaw.  _ How fucking long have I been into you? _ He knew right then, that he really needed to tell Nolan when it was over. His heart thudded  **loud** in his chest, crying out in triumph as Travis finally figured out that he’d been into Nolan for a  _ long time _ . He caught Oskar looking at him from Nolan’s other side, small smirk on his face.

“You two  _ always  _ have to get into it, don’t you?” Nolan laughed at that one. Travis wanted to bottle the sound so he could play it over and over. Forever. Fuck off. Travis leaned over so that he was in Nolan’s space, facing Oskar. He knew he didn’t  _ have _ to get that close. But he  _ really _ wanted to lean across Nolan’s lap.

“ _ Fuck _ yeah. You can’t just fuck with Patty and  _ not _ expect me to step in, we’ve gotta  _ defend _ ourselves.” As Travis said this he put his hand on Nolan’s shoulder, shaking him side to side. Nolan let an easy smile slip onto his face as he let Travis move him around however he pleased, his chest pads rubbing against Travis’ shoulder pads. Travis took note.  _ He’s so...willing. I wonder if he’d let me _ \- The horn cut that thought off as everyone stood back up. Travis disguised his alarmed jolt by immediately putting his hands on Nolan’s shoulders and shaking him slightly, saying “get pumped Patty”. They fist bumped and made their way back out of the tunnel with a “let’s fucking do this”.

They fought hard. Each time they put one on the board, the leafs answered right back. They headed into overtime, and Nolan felt relief that now no matter what they couldn’t be eliminated, but still resolved to  _ win _ . The sooner they won the sooner he could go home and jack off in his bed with Travis’ stupid fucking face starring as his stupid fantasy. Of course, because god had something out for Nolan in particular, they ended up deep in a shootout. And because got had something out for Nolan in particular, he  _ missed _ his shot. It didn’t matter. They went several rounds before Tavares embarrassed himself by losing control of the puck, Coots scored like the absolute legend he is, and Hartsy robbed Nylander, winning them the shootout and the game. To say Nolan lost his shit would be an understatement. He was hyped up all the way down the tunnel, through the helmet handoff, into the showers, and out to the bar. Travis wishes he and Nolan could just go back to their apartment so he could just spill his guts. Nolan licking his lips when faced with Travis was something he hadn’t forgotten. And couldn’t wait to question. But they were celebrating with their boys, and he knew they’d go home together at the end no matter what, but Travis felt like his skin was  _ too small _ . He was hot and itchy and just wanted to Scream at Nolan about how he liked his stupid face and maybe kinda wanted to get his hands on his dick, but like, priorities. He’d go to the bar with the boys and take way too many shots and probably embarrass himself and Nolan by extension and then go home and do it all again in a few days. He got to the bar and Nolan was already there, bills on the counter and shots in his hands. He brightened as soon as he saw Travis, thrusting one of the shot glasses into his hand.

“Teeks! You’re on me tonight!” Travis almost choked, and spluttered out a

“What” Nolan grinned, seemingly unaware of his poor  _ though hopefully  _ **_not_ ** poor phrasing.

“Your drinks, man! You got us all goin tonight buddy, so your drinks are on me.” Travis nodded and clinked glasses with Nolan, taking his shot. He heard Nolan shout out a “GERALD!” and knew the vets had arrived. He  _ shouldn’t _ have been so caught up in the way Nolan’s body moved under his dress shirt, but he was, so what, fuck off.  They piled in at a couple of the tables, Nolan’s arm settling heavy over Travis’ shoulders, hand on his bicep to keep Travis in the booth, and thigh pressing hard against Travis’ own. Travis forgot how much he liked going to the bar after a win. Nolan was  _ handsy _ . He always ended up touching Travis. Travis liked regular Nolan, but he also really liked drunk Nolan. Drunk Nolan was smiley and giggly and liked being with Travis. He ordered the two of them another round as they watched their teammates wreak havoc at the bar. Travis knew he’d end up joining in soon enough, if he could pull himself away. He finally let Nolan get up to give them a few more shots and take a piss. He circled back to the bar and as the bartender was pouring the shots, Travis saw Nolan strike up a conversation with G and Coots. He settled back into the booth, tuning into what Provy and Oskar were talking about, though he couldn’t fully follow the conversation, eyes locked on Nolan’s shoulder blades under his shirt. He’d totally zoned out when he saw a small hand reach up and poke gently at Nolan’s shoulder blade.  _ What the fuck? _ Travis followed the hand to the body it was attached to. It was a small brunette, cute by all accounts, talking to Nolan. He had his beer in his hand, smiling and nodding along to what she was saying. When she put her hand on his shoulder and leaned up to whisper in his ear, Travis snapped.  _ I’m fucking telling him _ . Travis barely contained enough brain space to remember that they should go _home_ for this discussion, instead of Travis getting potentially embarrassed in public. Travis stormed over there, walked unceremoniously between them, hearing the girl let out a surprised exclamation and Nolan a surprised but happy

“Teeks!” as Travis took the shot that  _ Nolan had gone over to order _ and downed it, turning to Nolan.

“Let’s go home.” Nolan’s eyes widened at that, but he nodded, draining his beer and pounding down his shot, following Travis out of the bar. They hailed a cap and went home. Travis was quiet, still a little surprised how angry he got at someone else making a move on Nolan, but unable to have silenced the overwhelming voice in his head that just said  _ mine _ . Nolan felt Travis’ tense silence, so he didn’t say anything. Once they pulled up and got out of the cab, Travis started back up towards his apartment. He heard Nolan slowly following behind him. 

“TK, dude, what’s going on?” Travis grabbed his wrist and tugged him hard through the front door, pressing him up against it once they were inside and shoving himself right up in Nolan’s space.

“We need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Travis, always coming in to save Nolan from threats, both real and made up.


	17. Clear Eyes Full Hearts Can't Lose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boys talk about their feelings!  
> WARNING: SMUT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gay shit coming in hot

Nolan stared wide-eyed at Travis. His cheeks were flushed dark, mouth slightly open. Travis manhandling him through the door and then pushing him up against it went to his dick a little bit, which was _a little fucked up_ , based on the fact that Travis clearly wanted to seriously talk to him about something. _Oh god does he know? Did he hear me reject that girl at the bar? Did he see me fucking rock hard for him all game long? Should I just tell him now?_ ** _No. This could be about anything, he might not necessarily know yet._** Travis had stepped right up into Nolan’s space. Nolan felt dizzy. If Travis pushed any closer, he’d _feel_ Nolan through his slacks. And then he’d _definitely_ know. Travis looked up into his eyes, and then went to look down. _No no no don’t do it oh god he’s doing it he’s looking down he sees my dick holy shit_. Travis looked back up at Nolan, gaze still serious, something foreign glinting in his eyes. Nolan was petrified.

“Patty. Are you getting hard from this? From me?” His voice was just as rough and tinted with a foreign emotion as it was at the bar. Nolan was _pretty sure_ Travis had just figured out Nolan liked him, and even worse, Nolan was pretty sure Travis was about to punch his lights out about it. He wouldn’t necessarily just _let_ Travis hit him, but if Travis really was that angry that Nolan had feelings for him, Nolan wasn’t sure how much energy he’d be able to put into fighting back. Nolan had the height advantage, and some weight on Travis, but Travis was feisty. _God please don’t make me have to fight him_. Nolan figured it’d be better to just get it all out there, and then brace for impact.

“Okay! Okay. _Yes_ , I’m into you! But I _wasn’t_ gonna do anything about it Teeks I _swear_ , and I was cool with just hangin out and not doing anything but then the whole stitches shit happened and the fucking shower fiasco and then you _kissed me_ and I thought maybe you- we- but then you didn’t mean it and I needed to get my shit together before I could just be bros, except I can’t do _shit_ without you apparently and was back here the _next fucking day_ and you were sick and I felt bad and _shit_ , dude, I’ve been hard for you for _ages_. God Trav, I wanted to get my hands on your dick since the Sabres game, but I _wasn’t ever_ gonna do anything about it I swear TK you _gotta_ believe me.” Nolan had squeezed his eyes shut and hunched his shoulders up by his ears, face scrunched up waiting for Travis to just kill him right then and there.

Travis was just digesting everything Nolan had said, on top of the _clear hard on_ he had from _Travis_ manhandling him. **_Holy shit._** _I’m into you._ ** _Holy shit._** _Stitches. Shower._ _You kissed me. You didn’t mean it._ ** _Fuck._** _Sabres game._ ** _Holy shit._** He was staring at Nolan, watching him curl in on himself. _Is he scared of me? Does he think I’d hurt him? I’d_ ** _NEVER_** _._ But Nolan was practically pleading for Travis to know Nolan wasn’t gonna do anything. All the blood had gone from his brain right to his dick as Nolan talked about _how bad he wanted Travis_. He let his head fall down onto Nolan’s chest heavily, trying to breathe and gather himself, but it gave him a clear sightline to Nolan’s tented slacks.

“Fuck, Patty. That’s so long.” Was all that was able to come out of Travis’ mouth. All that was playing in Travis’ mind was TV static. He pulled his head back and looked up, seeing Nolan slightly open his eyes. “You...you’ve really been hard for me that long?” Nolan let out a laugh that sounded sharp, desperate, still slightly afraid.  
“Yeah dude, it’s bad. Been hard for you for so long it’s embarrassing.”

“Oh shit. Thank god. Me too...I mean, for you.” Nolan was unwinding, bit by bit, looking at Travis with that _look_ that Travis had seen more and more often recently. His smile was almost imperceptible, far too nervous and far too shy for Travis’ liking.

“You mean it?” He asked quietly

“Yeah. I meant it too, after the Pens game, but...you gave me the cold shoulder after I got scared _you_ didn’t want it and just-”

“ _God_ Teeks I wanted it _so fucking bad_ I was afraid if I touched you at all I would just fucking rail you right then and there.”

“ _Fuck_ Pat...you can’t just _say_ shit like that.” Nolan let out the tiniest little giggle. Travis wanted to wrap them up in it.

“Okay, well let’s go bud”

“Just close your eyes”

“Wha-why”

“I can’t kiss you if they’re open.” Travis said, stating the obvious but feeling slightly shy about it.

“Okay but how will I know yours are closed if mine are closed” Nolan argued, his mouth quirking up in a smile.

“Okay fine we’ll close them at the same time” Nolan nodded, both boys grinning wildly. They both closed their eyes, Travis counted down from three, and leaned up to kiss Nolan. They missed. Travis had his lips on Nolan’s chin, Nolan’s on Travis’ cheek. They both started giggling, turning into full blown laughter. It wouldn’t have even been a real kiss anyway, both of them smiling too much. Nolan had a blush high on his cheeks, his _Travis_ smile firmly in place.

“How long? For you? When...when did you?” Travis had figured out what Nolan was attempting to ask.

“I’m not really sure. You know me, I just beeline for guys, I see red every time someone touches you I thought it was just cause we’re bros but dude...I don’t _do that_ for anybody else. I’ve been doing it whenever we’re lineys or just sharing ice but I don’t do that for Laughts or G... _it’s always you_ . And I realized I did _that_ because I’m into you _today_ but...Patty you went down and took that slapshot to the head against the Islanders and I just...” Travis let out a shaky laugh, remembering Nolan’s too still form on the ice. “And then, then you were just so _still_ , and looked so _fragile_ . Then the-the shower fiasco, as you called it...Patty you in the shower has been my entire spank bank ever since I swear” Travis shook his head a little, watching Nolan’s blush inch down his neck and darken rapidly. Nolan’s eyes, usually icy blue, were dark. His breath hitched, and as Travis shifted he was reminded of his own dick, hard in his pants. _Fuck_. _Fuck I don’t even have to hide this anymore I can just_ … “Patty _please_ tell me I can touch your dick”

“ _Oh fuck yes_ ” Nolan kicked off his shoes, undoing his belt and shucking his pants down to step out of them, reaching for Travis’ belt buckle. Travis breathed out a

“Shit” before pulling up his dress shirt and losing his shoes. Feeling Nolan’s hands _so close_ but _not quite there_ was tortue.

“Teeks, I’m not gonna last” Nolan breathed out, body leaning down so his head could rest on Travis’ shoulder. He pushed Travis’ pants down and pulled back the waistband of his boxers, reaching inside and palming Travis’ cock in his _fucking massive_ hand. _Holy shit_.

“I-me neither Pat it’s okay. Fuck.” Travis almost ripped Nolan’s boxers off his body, panting as he grasped Nolan and started jerking him in a quick mostly steady rhythm. Hearing Nolan pant and gasp against him, looking down and seeing _Nolan’s hand_ on _Travis’ dick_ and vice versa made Travis lose any and all sense he may have had left. It wasn’t fancy, just the two of them jerking one another off. Until Nolan spun Travis around and pulled his back flush against his chest, one hand going back to his dick and the other hand opening some of the buttons of his shirt, searching until he found a nipple, pinching and rolling it between his fingers. Travis’ head lolled back onto Nolan’s shoulder, his neck exposed for Nolan to lean down and leave open mouth kisses along Travis’ neck and jaw. They were both panting, Nolan’s cock sliding in the cleft of Travis’ ass, thrusting slightly as Travis tried to figure out whether to thrust forward into Nolan’s hand or back against his dick. Travis was pretty sure he could die _right now_ and be okay with it, but then Nolan opened his mouth, his deep voice panting out praise and confession.

“ _God Travis_ . I thought I was gonna have to go home and jerk myself off tonight, _fuck_ you were so hot fighting off the fucking leafs. I got so fucking hard in my jock, dude.” he’d said, as if this wasn’t already the hottest night of Travis’ entire life. Travis’ hands went up to grip Nolan’s hair, feeling his hips stutter as he groaned.

“God Patty you’re so fucking gorgeous, you know that? Christ, you feel so good. Fuck you’re so good holy shit.” Travis tugging hard at his hair and moaning praise into Nolan’s ear had him coming undone quickly, spraying over Travis’ ass as his hand twisted and squeezed at Travis’ tip, coaxing the boy’s orgasm out of him. Travis was open mouth panting and groaning as he came on Nolan’s hand, the combination of Nolan’s hands and sounds doing him in. He slouched back into Nolan’s chest, hearing him thud against the door. He chuckled a little bit. _Thank god we made it inside_. Nolan just held him like that for a moment, Travis felt his dress shirt sticking to his body from the sweat, and knew Nolan probably was in the same condition. He pulled his hands out of Nolan’s hair and brought them down, unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way. Travis finally pulled away, once he was sure his legs would support him, Nolan grumbling about it behind him. Travis went into the kitchen and grabbed some paper towels and gatorade, bringing them back and handing the paper towels to Nolan.

“Clean up your fucking mess, you dick.” Travis chirped, turning around to face away from Nolan. Nolan wasn’t coherent as he attempted to respond, instead just wiping his cum up off of Travis’ skin. Travis shed his dress shirt and immediately went to uncap the gatorade, drinking a little bit of it and turning to face Nolan. _God_ if he hadn’t just came his dick would be _right back up_. Nolan was there, several shirt buttons undone, red as he’s ever seen him, slumped and blissed out against the door, dick hanging heavy between his legs, and traces of his own come clinging to his shirt, which was nearly transparent from sweat. “Fuck, Patty. I wish you could see how fucking sexy you look right now, holy shit.” Nolan just gave him a tired smile and nodded a little, clearly still in a fog. Travis smirked as an idea came over him. He backed up a couple inches, and _squeezed_ the gatorade bottle, launching some of it towards Nolan, it spraying him. Nolan let out an indignant squawk, eyes turning sharp and staring at Travis.

“Good game” Travis said with a filthy smirk before taking off and running to the bedroom, Nolan chasing after him shouting curses and threats. Nolan caught him, _of course he did_ , and wrapped his arms around Travis’ middle, hauling him in against his chest and reaching out to steal the gatorade, taking a small sip himself before dumping the rest of it all over Travis. “Good game” he mocked, both boys laughing until they almost collapsed. Nolan finally discarded his dress shirt, watching Travis crashland onto his bed. He suddenly felt unsure. Yeah he and Travis had slept in the same bed before, _fuck_ he woke up cuddling the guy several days prior, but it was always under the pretenses of looking after one another, never... _this_. Nolan opened his mouth and let out a quiet

“Can I stay?” as Travis sprawled on his bed. Travis looked up at him, light smile on his face as he joked

“I sure fucking hope you are.” Nolan nodded, hands going up to mess with his hair. Travis saw his nervous tic and sat up, seeing this needed to be a somewhat serious conversation. “Patty. Pat. Dude. Listen. What I said tonight...it wasn’t _just_ about tonight. It wasn’t _just_ about me wanting to get my hands on your dick, okay? I mean yeah, that was part of it, and _holy shit it was incredible_ , but I meant what I said, yeah? It’s always you.” Nolan blushed and nodded, crawling into bed when Travis lifted the covers in invitation. “By the way, _I_ want to be the big spoon this time.” He heard Nolan choke at his side.

“ _You knew?_ ” Travis laughed, leaning to jostle Nolan.

“Yeah bud, I woke up and we were all tangled up, you and me. I didn’t wanna move, but I was _way too hot_.”

“Yeah you were” was Nolan’s reflexive response, and they both felt a little smug about it. “But no way, you’re small as fuck, you’re gonna be the little spoon.”

“But I wanna be the big spoon sometimes!”

“Okay well you wouldn’t _be_ the big spoon. You’d be some other shit, okay? We can make up a dumb name for it tomorrow.”

“ _Fine_ ”. Travis grumbled as he let Nolan turn him and mold him how he liked, wrapping them up together. They were both disgusting, sweaty, sticky, covered in gatorade and bodily fluids, but they didn’t have a care in the world.

“We’re fucking disgusting” Nolan mumbled after a few moments.

“You wanna shower” Travis asked, wiggling against Nolan. He felt him smile into his neck.

“Wanna add to your spank bank already, Teeks?”

“ _Trust me_ Patty, that mental image of you against that front door is in there forever. But for now I’m tired, and yeah, we’re gross, but we’re _always_ gross, so can we shower in the morning?” Nolan didn’t verbally answer, but the way he squeezed Travis tighter and let out a deep exhale against his neck told Travis he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a little shorter than usual but I hope that the content of it makes up for it! Our boys learned how to talk with words! Don't worry this isn't the end  
> I hope this lived up to everyone's great expectations!  
> As always constructive criticism is always welcomed  
> I'm proud of these stupid boys and their ability to finally get their shit together, and I'm glad that even when they do get their shit together they're still a disaster


	18. Jetpacks are cool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys learn about jetpacks.

When Nolan woke up entangled in Travis, he had a moment of instinctive panic, until he remembered the night before. He let himself relax again, and enjoy the feeling of Travis there next to him. He reached around to check his phone, cursing when he saw the time. They had skate at 11, and they both _definitely_ needed to shower first. Realistically, they had time. But Nolan wanted to leave extra time for any _extra activities_ . He licked his lips, moving Travis’ hair away from his neck and leaving an open-mouth kiss there, letting his hand run in slow circles over Travis’ abs. They’d need to buy lube, and stuff, so no sex, but Nolan had _plenty_ of other things he wanted to do with, and to Travis. Nolan waited. They hadn’t talked about like, boundaries and stuff, so no matter how bad he wanted to wake the guy up by sucking his dick, and how much he was sure that’d probably be well received, he wasn’t a creep. So he let himself stay settled against Travis, grin slipping onto his face at the prospect of just being like this for a little while longer.

Travis woke up to a hard body against his back, breath on the back of his neck, and a hand running slow lazy circles around his stomach. He looked down, seeing Nolan’s huge, thick fingers only inches away from his dick. He felt Nolan leave an open-mouthed kiss to the back of his neck and rumble out a very deep _very sexy_ “morning” that did not at all help the amount of blood that was traveling south. Travis tried to roll over, and made a face when he felt his sticky skin peel away from Nolan’s. He looked up and saw Nolan’s mouth slightly agape, the same disbelieving disgust clear as he stopped his hand motions.

“Yeah, we’re gonna shower.” Nolan got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom, shivering a little bit as he had to peel himself off the sheets. Travis was _not_ looking forward to having to get out of bed. “I’ll shower without you, whatever you want” Nolan called from the other room. _In that case…_ Travis all but sprung out of bed, hurrying into the bathroom behind Nolan. He got into the bathroom and saw Nolan. He took a few moments and just _looked_ . Travis hadn’t been allowed to look before. Sure, you saw everyone in the locker room, but seeing was different then _looking._ It took him another moment to notice Nolan was speaking to him. “Do you- we didn’t really- uh…are you cool with us showering together?” Travis dumbly nodded, still staring at his best friend, who then had a _stupid_ big grin on his face and grumbled out a “cool” before stepping into the shower. He turned on the water full blast as soon as Travis stepped in, causing him to scream and rush towards the wall away from the spray, crowding into Nolan’s space as the taller man laughed. The icy water hitting his skin brought his dick back down under control. The water heated up and Travis stepped back out into the spray, pulling Nolan out with him. Travis once again allowed himself to just _look_ . He watched as the shower spray hit Nolan, water dripping down down _down._ He was jolted out of his thoughts when Nolan’s hands were on him, lathered up and moving in slow circles along his sides. Nolan reached around to get his back, his mouth next to Travis’ ear.

“I woke up wanting to blow you” _Fuck._ Travis was confident Nolan was going to kill him. There was no way he could reasonably function as a human being after Nolan just said that, especially with him now trailing his lips along Travis’ jaw. Travis finally regained some sense of words, mustering up a breathy

“Yeah?” as he let his hands trail up Nolan’s sides. Nolan nodded.

“Wanted to wait until you were awake so you could _appreciate_ it. So whaddaya say TK? Gonna let me suck you off?” Nolan quipped. Travis nodded, not so lost in lust that he didn’t appreciate Nolan waiting to check it was okay. _God_ him being woken up to Nolan on his dick would be a dream come true, but he felt soft knowing Nolan was waiting to see what Travis wanted. He saw Nolan smirk and sink to his knees, Travis’ first sex dream regarding him coming back to him at the visual. He cursed and pressed himself against the wall, hands grappling for something to grasp before settling them heavily in Nolan’s hair. Watching Nolan’s eyelids flutter as Travis lightly tugged on the strands gave him the confidence to flirt back.

“Well since you’ve been waiting you better not hold back, baby” Nolan licked his lips before letting his tongue drag over Travis’ dick. He looked up at the man above him and gave him a wicked smirk.

“You don’t have to either, just so you know.” _God,_ Nolan _totally was_ trying to kill him. He was about to chirp him that there was _no way_ Nolan could handle it, but his teasing remark came out as an embarrassingly loud moan as Nolan wrapped his lips around Travis. Nolan was thankful he’d blown G somewhat recently, it meant he’d already knocked all the rust off and could get right down to business. He licked up the underside, letting his lips slide down from the tip.

“ _God, Patty...you look so good sucking me off_ ” Travis was already a panting mess just from watching Nolan swallow him down, hollowing out his cheeks. Travis trailed one hand out of Nolan’s hair to cup his jaw, feeling it working.

“ _Fuck Pat you’re so hot fuck you’re so fucking good holy shit._ ” Hearing Travis come apart above him raised Nolan’s confidence, and his dick, all the way up. He reached down between his thighs, working himself to the same rhythm that he was using to suck Travis. He trailed one hand up over Travis’ thighs, reaching to cup and roll Travis’ balls. He groaned around the dick in his mouth, enjoying the sounds he was pulling out of the guy. He took a deep breath and swallowed Travis all the way down to the root, swallowing around the tip of Travis’ cock. Travis bucked his hips forward at the action, letting out an absolutely explicit moan as Nolan just fucking _took it_.

“ _God baby you’re so much better than you were in my dreams_ ” _Holy shit_ . Nolan was about to shoot his load right there. _He’s fucking dreamed about this._ Travis experimentally thrust his hips a few times, testing the waters. Any ability to hold back got thrown out the window when he opened his eyes and stared down at Nolan, whose eyes were dark with lust, lips puffy and cheeks a dark crimson. Once Travis saw that Nolan was pumping himself, something hit him. _He fucking loves this holy shit. He fucking wants me to use him._ Travis gripped Nolan’s hair tight and _pulled_ , ripping a moan out of Nolan’s throat and confirming Travis’ suspicions. Travis set it up so that he controlled when and how far down Nolan took Travis, both of them moaning as they chased their high. Travis felt himself start to tip over the edge, moving to pull Nolan off his dick.

“P-Patty, I’m-” Nolan took his free hand and reached it behind Travis, pulling the top of his thigh towards him, forcing Travis back down his throat. **_Oh FUCK_ ** _._ Travis blew right there, Nolan sucking him through it and swallowing Travis’ load as he jerked himself off was the hottest thing Travis had ever seen in his entire life. He all but collapsed, Nolan’s shifted grip to his hips keeping him steady. Travis gave Nolan’s hair a light tug when his mouth got to be too overstimulating. Nolan pulled himself off and up, reveling in the dazed look Travis had in his eyes. Travis shot him a dreamy smile and shuffled forwards, landing on Nolan, causing him to let out a small ‘oof’.

“The water’s getting cold” Nolan grumbled. Travis laughed against his shoulder, reaching around him to turn the water off. They stepped out of the shower and dried off, Nolan groaning when he went out into the living room upon seeing their game day suits flung in various piles around the entryway. They didn’t have another game for a few days, but still they’d need to deal with it. And he needed clothes from his place. Ugh. He went back into Travis’ bedroom in time to see him pulling his boxers up. Nolan licked his lips. Travis shook the water out of his hair and looked up, eyeing the naked Nolan standing in his doorway. Travis had to tamp down the urge to drag Nolan to bed and never let him out. _Later_. He slowly made his way to Nolan, resting his hands on the other man’s hips.

“ _God_ you’re so fucking hot dude” Nolan smirked and let his hand rest on Travis’ neck.

“Yeah? You been eyein’ me bud?” _God,_ Nolan’s voice was _wrecked_. There was no question about what they’d been up to. Travis blushed, suddenly shy as he thought back to the first time he saw Nolan, showing up at training camp. He was so quiet and nervous, and there was just _something_ about him that made Travis drawn to him. Made Travis want to quell his nerves. It was inexplicable, the way he was drawn to the new boy, hell he _switched roommates_ mid season from Provy to Patty just so he could spend more time with him...how did he _ever_ not know he was into him?  How did he spend the past couple of years thinking how he hung all over this guy was _normal_ ? Granted he’d thought it was admiration instead of attraction, but once he compared what ran through his head when Nolan scored, and when Simmer fought somebody, they were two _clearly_ distinct feelings. He could _never_ seem to take his eyes off of Nolan, and now was no different. He turned his attention to Nolan’s bicep tattoo, worried if he looked Nolan in the eye he’d be able to read Travis’ thoughts and see that he was gone for this guy since _probably_ the first time they met. Which, the two of them seemed to be casual, and he did _not_ want to come on too strong. Not when this was _so_ new.

“Y-yeah...is that not-” Nolan cut him off with a chaste kiss, pulling away before he could get too carried away.

“I’ve been eyein’ you too.” Nolan mumbled, his own blush coming up on his cheeks. Travis leaned up, pulling Nolan flush against him and pressing their lips together. Nolan sighed against his mouth, his hand that was on his neck moving up so his thumb could stroke Travis’ jaw, his other hand moving down to the small of his back. Travis’ thumbs ran slow circles over Nolan’s hip bones. Nolan’s lips were chapped, but Travis didn’t give a shit. He was captivating. Travis ran his tongue over Nolan’s bottom lip, biting it slightly and going boneless at the groan Nolan let out. _God_ he wanted to see how many sounds he could pull out of Nolan. Travis let one of his hands trail up to tangle in Nolan’s hair, feeling the hand on his low back scratch lightly and feeling Nolan push his hips down onto his thigh. Travis felt Nolan getting excited against him, and Travis’ brain short-circuited. He was a little embarrassed at how apparently easy it was for him to get hard over Nolan, but knowing they were both getting excited just from making out like a couple of teenagers ignited the fire under his skin from a low burning ember to a flaming inferno. He kicked Nolan’s feet apart slightly, pushing his leg in between his thighs. They panted into one another’s mouths as they ground against each other’s thighs, Travis’ boxers growing tighter with each passing second. Nolan finally pulled away to breathe with a whine, his eyes dazed and dark. Travis wanted to dive right back in, unable to resist Nolan’s plush lips when his phone alarm went off. He groaned and checked the time, cursing when they only had 20 minutes to make it to practice.

“I swear I checked the time right before I came in here and we had like an hour…” Travis smirked as he pulled his pants on, wandering over to his closet before tossing some clothes at Nolan.

“What can I say Patty? My mouth is magic” Nolan rolled his eyes as he put on the sweatpants Travis gave him, surprised when they actually fit.

“Are these--are these my sweatpants?”

“ _Maybe_ ”

“How long have you had these Trav?”

“I thought they were mine fuck off”

“ _Sure_ buddy” Nolan chuckled and pulled a shirt on, following Travis out to the entryway and donning his coat. They managed to make it to practice on time, keeping the touching to a minimum as was discussed in the car.

“Okay we can’t tell the guys yet so we just gotta like, _not_ do the PDA thing”

“Cool cool yeah good call” They sat farther apart from one another than usual within the confines of their stalls, and when they got out onto the ice they interacted very little, trying to make everything look normal to not arouse suspicion. They made quick work of practice and were back in their stalls getting ready to go home before anyone could ask them if they wanted to grab lunch or see a movie.

Travis had thought that once everything was out in the open, it’d be...different. He didn’t know _how_ he thought it’d be different, he just thought it would be. He felt a little relieved that it wasn’t. Nolan still chirped him for being short and a dumbass, Travis still said dumb shit to set Nolan off, they still sat entirely too close together on the couch during movies and videogames, the only _real_ difference was that now Travis was _allowed_ to touch. I mean sure, he touched Nolan all the time. He was a touchy kinda guy. But now he didn’t have to second guess his touches, or only keep his hands in the “bro zone” areas. It was a little overwhelming, if he was being honest. Now he could just...touch Patty? Anywhere? All the time? Wherever and whenever he wanted? That couldn’t be right, right? He felt out of his depth. With girls, there were like, rules, and stuff. He had experience, he knew what he was doing. With Nolan he had no idea. He had no experience in that area, he was a little thankful all they did last night was jerk each other off, because _that_ was something Travis knew how to do. But sucking a dick? Holy shit, Nolan had given him the best blowjob of his fucking life, and Travis had literally no idea how to even go about putting his mouth on a penis. Travis knew he wanted to fuck the shit out of Nolan on every available surface in the apartment. That part was like, crystal clear. He knew that the basic principle was the same, you put your dick in the hole and fuck off to pleasure town. But, and Travis wasn’t boasting here, his dick was a pretty good size. How the fuck was it gonna fit? He hadn’t like, checked out Nolan’s asshole, or anything, but he was pretty sure that assholes were _not that big_ . Maybe Nolan’s was, since G fucked him? Travis had no fucking idea. But he was a little nervous about them doing stuff, because he _liked_ Nolan, and he didn’t know if Nolan just wanted to like, fuck around, or like, hold hands and go to the movies. Travis didn’t want to fuck up something that had the potential to be one of the best things in his life. He’d have to blow Patty away with his sexual prowess, so that Nolan wouldn’t go out seeking better after he’d finished fucking around with Travis. He’d be stuck with Travis and his top of the line gay sex knowledge forever. Before he looked up a shit ton of gay porn, he had some _very_ important research to do. While Nolan was driving them home, he googled the following:

_“How to be the big spoon when you’re small”_

_“Term for small person being the big spoon”_

_“Big spoon small man”_

_“Men spooning small man big spoon”_

_“How to tell the stupidly large man in my bed that I want to be the big spoon”_ None of them gave him any useful information, all spitting out the same 5 articles. Finally he googled

 _“Cuddling terms”_ to see if there was like, vocab he should know about gay cuddling. He found an article that had the word jetpack in the blurb. _Anything about jetpacks has gotta be good_ .  He clicked on the article. Under “spooning” it said “A great cuddling term is ‘jetpacking’ when describing the position where the physically smaller partner is behind the larger partner.” Travis grinned and snuck a glance over at Nolan. He was gonna jetpack him _so hard_ when they went home to nap. Nolan pulled into his spot in the parking garage and made his way to the elevator, pushing the button for his floor.

“You’re not coming over?” Nolan looked down to where Travis was draped over his side.

“No. Your bed is disgusting, we’re going to my place.” Travis made a pleased noise in the back of his throat, wrapping his arms around Nolan’s waist, just because he could. The doors opened onto Nolan’s floor and he shuffled to his door, Travis continuing to drape himself wherever he could reach. He knew he was probably being annoying, but Nolan always found him at least a little annoying. Nolan opened the door and pushed Travis inside, shutting the door with his foot behind him. “Trav this clinging is gonna make getting naked hard” Travis’ eyes widened and he stepped back, kicking off his shoes.

“I thought you wanted to nap?” Travis cringed at how desperate his voice sounded. He needed time to look up how to do gay stuff still, he wanted to get it right the first time, he didn’t want to give Nolan any reasons to go to anyone else. This thing was so new and it would still be easy for Nolan to find someone else to be...what _were_ they? Travis liked Nolan, like, a lot, but Nolan hadn’t said anything that wasn’t about him wanting to get his hands on Travis’ dick, which, Travis wouldn’t complain about obviously, but if Nolan just wanted to be like, fuck buddies or something, Travis wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to pretend he’d be fine without Nolan liking him too. He was so lost in thought that he missed Nolan going to his bedroom and undressing down to his boxers. He flopped down onto the bed and called out into the living room where Travis was.

“Hurry up for fucks sake” Travis snapped out of his daze with a shake of his head. He made his way to the bedroom, stopping at the edge of the bed to strip down to his own underwear. As he was pulling down his pants, Nolan’s hand gripped his wrist and pulled him down onto the bed. “Too slow” he chirped, pulling Travis into him and wrapping his arms securely around his waist. Travis most certainly _did not_ yelp in surprise as he crash landed on stupid Nolan’s stupid super huge super hot body. He looked down at him, watching as he just grinned up at Travis, smile taking up his whole face and his cheeks dusted pink. Travis thought for a moment about how he wanted to kiss him, before he remembered that he _could_. Travis leaned down and pressed his lips to Nolan’s, resting his forearms on either side of Nolan’s head. Nolan hummed in appreciation and and moved one of his hands to Travis’ back, running it up and down slowly. He let his other hand rest on Travis’ hip, thumb rubbing along his hip bone. Travis wiggled so that he was straddling Nolan, moving one of his hands to thread through his hair. He pulled away to press kisses along Nolan’s jaw.

“I do still want to nap, you know” Nolan said, leaning up to recapture Travis’ lips.

“Go ahead and sleep then Pat”

“I never in my life thought I’d say this, but stop kissing me”

“Stop kissing me back then, bud” The two grinned against one another’s lips, Nolan rolling them to be on their sides. Travis new Nolan got grumpy when he didn’t get his nap, so he regretfully pulled away. Nolan moved to pull Travis into his chest when Travis remembered his research from the car. “Roll on over Patty, _I’m_ gonna be the big spoon this time.”

“Absolutely not, my bed my rules”

“But you got it _last time_ ”

“And again, you _can’t_ be the big spoon because you’re tiny as fuck” Travis gasped in mock hurt, muttering an aghast

“ _Patty._ ” And then smugly added on “For your information, I’m gonna be your jetpack”

“My what”

“It’s called _jetpacking_ , Patty, I looked it up! It’s when I get to be the big spoon even though I’m _tiny as fuck_.”

“I like jetpacks” Nolan mumbled, which Travis took as a victory. Instead of waiting for Nolan to just roll over like a normal person, Travis climbed over him to get to his other side, settling in behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is close to coming to a close, but I still have more dumb shit I want them to do! So while it's almost finished it's not quite ready yet! Also they need to actually say "i like you" and not just "i wanna touch your dick"


	19. The Best [REDACTED] in Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nolan and Travis aren't nearly as subtle and clever at practice as they thought they were. Travis sucks it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a blow job in this so consider yourself warned

Nolan woke up feeling hungry. He and Travis had agreed on getting Chipotle post-nap on the ride back from the rink, and Nolan wanted to go _now_ , damn it. While they were out they could go get lube and shit too. Nolan had condoms, obviously, but didn’t really have any lube in his apartment, and he highly doubted Travis had any. He carefully and reluctantly wiggled himself out from Travis’ hold, getting dressed and stopping for a moment to just appreciate the view of Travis, asleep in _his_ bed. Nolan went out to the living room to grab something to drink and finish getting ready, letting Travis sleep a little more. When he could hold off no longer, Nolan went back into his bedroom, grumbling out Travis’ name.

“Trav. Trav...TK. Teeks. Travis. Dude. Babe. _Trav_.” Nolan got progressively louder, cutting himself off with a sigh as Travis made no sign of stirring. “I guess I’ll just go to chipotle by-” before he could finish his mumbled sentence, Travis had sat up, blinking rapidly and looking up at Nolan.

“ _Didyousaychipotle?_ ” Travis yawned out. Nolan’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Him practically shouting at Travis didn’t wake up, but whisper the word chipotle and he’s up faster then...like...something that gets up really fast. _Oh my god you absolute idiot_ . Nolan thought, painfully fond. Travis had gotten up and thrown on a hoodie and his jeans. Nolan saw that it was a Flyers hoodie, with his number 19 on it, because obviously Travis was trying to kill him. They managed to get to chipotle without any major incidents, and Nolan tried to find a good moment to breech the subject of sex. He wanted it, obviously. Christ, if they hadn’t had to go to skate that morning Nolan was pretty sure he’d have just had his way with Travis right then and there. He’d take his time opening him up, getting him dialed up and letting him get hard again. Nolan couldn’t wait to hear how loud Travis was during sex, the guy barely shut up now, he couldn’t wait to hear him incoherently babbling as Nolan drove him out of his mind. Not to mention, as far as he knew, Travis hadn’t ever been with a guy before. Getting to claim him, getting that part of him that _nobody else_ had ever gotten, or would ever get if he had his way, made something deep inside him extremely turned out at the prospect. God Nolan was getting hot just _thinking_ about it. He swerved into the CVS parking lot, a little rougher than usual. Travis didn’t know why they were at CVS but he figured he’d find out soon enough and followed Nolan inside. He had veered off into the candy aisle, grabbing a few things before going over and getting he and Nolan each a case of their favorite gatorades. He looked around, trying to spot the guy in question when he saw his greasy head peeking out over the aisle a few aisles over. He tried to sneak up behind him, but stopped when he saw what Nolan was looking at.

Lube.

For sex.

 _With him_.

Travis let out a choking cough as his brain conjured up some _very strong_ mental images of the two of them. Nolan turned around and flushed when he saw Travis.

“Good...you’re here. We should-I mean...we should probably like _talk_ about it more before we- but while we’re here I thought we’d- uh...do you...want…” Nolan was a tomato, mumbling and flicking his eyes between his shoes and somewhere just over Travis’ shoulder. Travis didn’t know a whole lot of things. But one thing he knew for certain was that he wanted himself and Nolan to fuck. Seeing Nolan’s discomfort made Travis want to put a smile back on his face. This was fine. He didn’t really know much about lube but the two of them could figure it out. He pushed himself farther into the aisle, setting down the gatorade and looking at all the different options.

“Dude what kind do we need?” He asked, scanning the shelves. There were _so many options_ , who knew? Gay guys, he guessed.

“I dunno” Nolan mumbled, looking at some that were standard, getting a little more relaxed. A colorful one caught Travis’ eye. _Cherry_.

“Oooooh what about the flavors?”

“Are you gonna eat it or are we gonna use it to fuck” Travis reached out and grabbed the one that said _Strawberry_.

“Well this kind we can do both!” Nolan rolled his eyes, a small smile breaking onto his face.

“Oh my god, just get this kind it’s fine” Nolan grumbled, grin growing as he grabbed the CVS brand unflavored kind.

“But I want it to be the _best_ ” Travis clarified, waving the strawberry flavored lube around.

“Oh my god” Nolan chuckled. “Fine but _you’re_ buying it. And I’m not eating it.” Travis grinned and knocked shoulders with Nolan, picking up the gatorade cases and thrusting them into his hands. They spent a few more minutes being idiots in CVS before going to checkout and heading home. They spent the rest of their day the way they’d spent almost every other, lazing on the couch playing video games. Again Travis was comforted at the fact that not everything about their relationship changed. Really if anything they just like, added stuff. Travis was already pretty happy with the level of friendship he had with Nolan, but now that there was this whole new secret level? Travis was ecstatic. He loved touching Nolan. Normally they’d play video games side by side, but today Travis arranged them so he was leaning back onto Nolan’s chest, his hips slotted neatly between Nolan’s thighs. Nolan’s arms were around his waist, hands loosely holding his controller. He had no idea how...quietly affectionate Nolan could be. Obviously he knew that Nolan had enjoyed his company, that was never a question, but he usually wasn’t the one who initiated all the physical contact. Yet once they started...Travis still wasn’t sure entirely _what_ they were, but once they had started gettin freaky, Nolan had become more affectionate, in his own way. At least, in private. When they were at practice they kept their slight distance, thinking they were being sly and acting normal, until one day after practice each of them got separately cornered by a few concerned teammates asking if they were okay. Travis had known the he and Nolan were often tangled up in one another, but he didn’t realize until a few of the boys asked him if they were fighting or why they were acting weird for Travis to understand just _how_ much they had always flirted and touched and leaned on one another. Hell, he almost died when Hartzy asked him how long they’d been _dating_. It was so nonchalant.

“I mean I know I’m new around here, but everyone says you two have just always been like this, did you get together when he got here?” Travis again thought back to when Nolan first arrived, how Travis had known Nolan was attractive, he had _eyes_ after all...but didn’t figure out until _way later_ that he was actually attracted _to_ him. And yeah, he had stuck probably annoyingly close to the guy, but he was just being friendly! Right? Travis wasn’t the most in touch with his feelings, hockey players never were, but he couldn’t possibly have been _that_ oblivious? Could he? Were they dating without knowing it? Was that a thing? Thinking about it made Travis’ head hurt. He shook his head to clear it and smiled at Hartzy, his gaze being drawn away as Nolan came out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist. The two made eye contact, both flushing and looking over one another. Travis had gotten brought back to the world around him when Hartzy stood up, clapping Travis on the shoulder before making his way back over to his own stall. Nolan sauntered over to him, Travis licked his lips and straightened up as he approached. He followed a drop of water as it trailed down Nolan’s neck and over his chest, turning at the cut of his hip and following the distinct v line leading towards his groin, disappearing into his towel. Travis wanted to lick it. Nolan sat down next to him and Travis leaned to jostle him with his shoulder. They shoved one another for a few moments before Nolan got a slightly panicked look, tearing his focus from Travis back to the rest of the locker room. Nobody was paying attention to them. He relaxed slightly and got dressed, waiting for Travis to finish getting ready before they departed. The second they got in the car they both started talking at the same time.

“Jakey thinks we’re fighting”

“Hartzy asked me how long we’ve been dating”

“Why would we be fighting? We’re like, the opposite of fighting.”

“He said according to the boys we’ve always been like this”

“Like we’re just not doing PDA that doesn’t mean we’re fighting”

“But we obviously haven’t _always been like this_ we started like two days ago”

“I mean I thought you sitting in my lap all the time would like, give us away”

They both stopped, staring at one another.

“What’d you say?” They asked one another. Travis took a deep breath.

“I think. Well, actually, it’s more that I _don’t_ think-”

“Sounds about right” Nolan snickered. Travis shoved him into the car door.

“Shut up this is important. I _don’t_ think us not doing PDA is like...normal. Is that weird?” Nolan looked at him.

“What are you talking about? Us making out at practice is not the norm”

“ _No_ , Patty, but like. Us being all up in one another’s space _is_.” Nolan nodded.

“So we don’t have to do anything? We can just...be normal?”

“Maybe minus the kissing.” They both made a face, not thrilled but acknowledging that, at least for now, that would be the rule.

“Okay cool.” Nolan’s brain finally caught up to the beginning of the conversation. “Wait-Hartzy thinks we’re dating?” Travis’ stomach plummeted. He knew he and Nolan hadn’t talked about it, but he’d hoped the guy would be open to the idea. Whatever. He’d just have to blow Nolan’s mind by blowing _him_ . He hadn’t really looked anything up, but figured it couldn’t be _too_ hard. Travis had eaten popsicles before. He nodded.

“H-he asked me how long we’ve been dating...said he asked the boys about us and they had just told him we’ve always been like this. _They_ know we’re not dating, but Hartzy just thinks...well, who knows what that guy thinks.” Nolan seemed contemplative. It was nerve-wracking, a little bit. Travis kept his eyes on the road. He thought about sharing his thoughts on Hartzy’s inquiry. About telling Nolan that he’d found him attractive from the moment they met. How now, with the way he feels, the way they are, he can see that maybe...just maybe...he was an even bigger idiot than he thought, and maybe.. _.just maybe..._ he had these feelings all along, but never identified it properly until recently. Never even thought about being with another man until Nolan had gone off with G, and the way his insides twisted and his emotions turned ugly.

Nolan was shocked to hear Hartzy thought they were dating. _How did he know?_ That itself was concerning, but the boys telling him that they were _always_ like this? Nolan thought he was like, subtle, about oggoling Travis for the past couple of years. It wasn’t his fault! Travis was hot as fuck, Nolan wasn’t fucking blind. And, as soon as he had showed up, Travis had just been _so nice_ . Like, _excessively nice_ . Who could blame Nolan for wanting to keep him around? He was easy on the eyes, and he made Nolan laugh. That didn’t mean they had been _dating_ . Nolan certainly _did_ have an _oh no he’s hot_ moment when he first saw Travis, but he wasn’t into him like...romantically. He’d _totally_ have sucked the guy’s dick if he’d asked, but, like, whatever. He thought he had been cool about all of it. Apparently not. He hoped everyone thinking they’d been dating since Nolan fucking showed up didn’t like, bother Travis. Certainly it was Nolan’s fault. Travis was a touchy guy, always up in everyone’s business, so he was just being himself. It must’ve been Nolan who made the team think they were both gay. Whatever. He and Travis were together _now_ , that’s what mattered. And if Nolan wanted to make sure they made up for lost time? Well, they had an away game coming up, and so they’d have a whole day in a hotel room for Nolan to fully admire Travis the way he’d wanted to since he first arrived at training camp.

The rest of their drive home was spent in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts about the conversation and its pretenses. Once they got back, Travis herded Nolan into his apartment and crowded him against the door. Nolan let out a short laugh, an amused grin on his face.

“What’re you up to today TK?” Travis steeled himself. He could do this. He licked his lips, a smirk coming to them as he saw Nolan track the movement. Travis let out a deep breath.

“I wanna suck your dick.” Nolan’s eyes widened comically, his face heating up and his mouth falling open as he tried to stutter out a response. Travis nodded, more to himself than anything, and sank down to his knees.

“Wha- here?” Nolan was struggling to form basic sentences.

“Why? You wanna do it somewhere else?” Travis truly hadn’t thought about it. He had one objective, blow Nolan’s mind by blowing his dick. It was a one step plan. Nolan nodded over to the couch.

“I-we might- it’s comfier there. For me. And for you too! Just-” Travis nodded and stood back up, giving Nolan an absolutely filthy kiss before pulling away and walking over to the couch. He pushed the coffee table away so he’d have more space. Nolan seemed very focused on walking over to the couch to take a seat. In reality it was because his mind had completely short-circuited at Travis’ words. He sat down on the couch and slowly spread his legs, eyes fixed on where Travis was kneeling on the floor in front of him. _Holy shit_ . Never in his entire life did he _ever_ think he’d have Travis, let alone have him _here_ wanting to suck _Nolan’s dick_ . Travis was rubbing his hands up and down on his thighs, and chewing a little on his bottom lip. He looked-nervous? Oh, no why was he nervous? Did he not know that Nolan would probably cum just from Travis _looking_ at his dick? Nolan took a breath to calm himself.

“Trav, you don’t...you don’t _have_ to do this y’know” Travis whipped his head up, looking a little wild-eyed

“D-do you not want me to?” _Fuck_. Nolan reached down and cupped Travis’ jaw, watching as he tensed slightly before seemingly relaxing against Nolan’s hand.

“I want you to do what you’re comfortable with. Like, yeah, getting my dick sucked is great, but it’s way better when the person like, wants to do it, you know? Don’t think you _have_ to suck me off, dude. We can like, go slow. That’s okay.

Travis was at a loss for words. Not knowing how to say anything other than making fun of Nolan, he chuckled.

“You think us giving each-other handies and you blowing me on the reg is going slow? Christ, Patty…” Nolan sighed and shook his head, leaning back onto the couch. Okay, maybe Travis should try a _tad_ harder at being serious. He looked down at his knees. His next words were quiet when they left his lips.

“I do. Want to. I just...I haven’t ever done this before and I don’t-” Travis couldn’t make himself finish the sentence. Nolan scooted forwards again, motioning for Travis to get up. Travis stood in between Nolan’s legs, and Nolan pulled him down into his lap. Nolan kissed him, slow and sweet. Travis felt himself relax into it, sighing happily. When Nolan pulled away, he spoke.

“It’s you, TK. I dunno if you’ve noticed, but I’m rock hard for you all the fucking time, bud.” Travis chuckled and ground his hips down against Nolan’s, raising his eyebrows at the lack of resistance he found.

“But you’re not _right now_ Patty…”

“Yeah dude, cause you’re like, nervous and shit. That’s not sexy. Not that you’re not! Sexy, that is, just like-” Travis cut him off with a kiss before sliding off of Nolan to his knees. He undid Nolan’s zipper on his jeans, and pulled his flaccid dick out through the hole in his boxers. Travis licked his lips and nodded to himself as he heard Nolan’s strangled “Holy shit” above him. He knew his hand was too dry, so he pulled it back and licked it, moving forwards and stroking Nolan a couple times. Travis slowly leaned forwards, and opened his mouth. He guided Nolan’s tip in and just let it rest there for a moment, getting used to the feeling. It just tasted like skin. Which, like, okay, duh. Now that he thought about it. He started to slowly move his lips up and down on Nolan’s shaft, one hand wrapped around the base of his dick. He let out a startled sound when he felt Nolan start to fill out in his mouth. Okay, _that_ was kinda hot. Feeling Nolan get hard in his mouth was definitely boosting Travis’ confidence. He tried to lick up the underside of his dick, but there wasn’t enough space in his mouth, so he ended up moving his lips all the way back to the tip. He experimentally licked around the head, feeling contentment warm him as Nolan let out a breathy curse. He circled his tongue around a few times before he felt something burst across his tongue. It was tangy. He continued to work his lips up and down Nolan’s shaft, tongue dragging when it could. He tried to take Nolan all the way down, hoping to make him feel as good as he’d made Travis feel when he blew him, but Nolan was huge. His head got close to the back of Travis’ throat and Travis pulled off coughing, tears pricking at his eyes.

“Trav are you okay? Do you wanna stop?” Nolan’s hands were clenched at his sides, and Travis seemed to just notice their lack of presence on his body.

“Am I doing okay?” Travis asked as he caught his breath, moving his hands to jerk Nolan slowly. Nolan tried hard to focus, Travis could tell. He reached out and gripped Travis’ hair.

“Your mouth is good, Teeks. Just...you said you wanted to _suck_ my dick. Don’t get me wrong what you’re doing is fucking great! But, to suck a dick, you need to-”

“Oh my god I need to actually suck the dick” Travis leaned his forehead down onto Nolan’s thigh, as he realized that he somehow missed a key element to the entire experience. At least he was still slowly jerking him off. It should’ve been one of the weirder things Travis has done, but it really wasn’t. Nolan croaked out a

“Yeah” and Travis gathered the remnants of his pride and picked his head up, licking his lips before putting the tip back in his mouth. He sucked lightly, finally hearing a sharp keen from Nolan telling him he got it. Travis started to sink his mouth as far down as he felt comfortable, sucking and licking at whatever he could reach. His hand jerked the rest, twisting his wrist and keeping his grip tight. Nolan’s sounds were obscene above him, driving Travis to work through it with him. His jaw was definitely starting to hurt, Nolan’s dick thick and weighty on his tongue was hot in his already hot mouth. But getting Nolan to sound like _that_ made any weirdness Travis had felt completely vanish. Nolan was making those sounds because of _him_ . Travis hummed in appreciation and was surprised to see _that_ get a rise out of Nolan too. He’d have to do this more to learn all of the secrets of dick sucking, so he could continue to blow Patty’s mind through making him blow his load. He pulled back to suck on the tip, swirling his tongue around it as Nolan panted out a warning. Travis pulled off and jerked Nolan the rest of the way, eyes flicking between his dick and his face as his arousal reached a crest and he came all over Travis’ hand.

“Sorry, I just- I can’t-” He stopped when he heard Nolan’s relaxed, fond chuckle above him.

“Dude you _literally_ just sucked my dick _why_ are you apologizing” Travis shyly pulled his hands away and gestured to them, wiping them off with the tissues on the coffee table. “Oh, dude it’s fine. I’m not gonna like, force you to swallow if you don’t want to.” Travis nodded, feeling soft at how surprisingly tender Nolan’s voice was.

“So it was okay?” Travis practically wheezed out. God, he sounded terrible. Would it be like this all the time? Nolan once again let out a chuckle.

“Yeah bud, it was a little more then okay.” He tucked himself back in his boxers and pulled Travis back up onto the couch, thumbs rubbing at the skin right above his waistband. He gave a sweet smile that turned teasing at Travis’

“Good. That’s good.” Nolan tucked Travis’ head under his chin, Travis feeling boneless even though it was Nolan who’d just had an orgasm. Whatever. He wasn’t gonna complain. They sat together quietly, until Nolan, that jerk, broke it.

“You sound like shit”

“I sound like...like that one character from toy story. You know the one?”

“Wheezy”

“Yes! That’s the one. Wheezy. Not Yeezy. Wait. Is it Yeezy?”

“Yeezy’s the rapper”

“Okay so not Yeezy. Wheezy.” God, he was so dumb and Nolan liked him so fucking much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have they both been dumb about each other forever? Absolutely. Are they ever gonna talk about it? God I hope so.  
> The next chapter might be our last! If not, it's gotta be close. I'm trying to have this fic and at the end of their season, and we're almost there.  
> Thanks for staying!


	20. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Flyers get mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  
> Nolan asks Travis on a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry its been so long! My finals schedule was tougher then it ever was in high school so I let this go on a bit of a hiatus too long! But I'm back now and will post this and have another chapter in the works that will be up soon! Thank you for sticking with me and this story!

They lost to Carolina. It was so close. As the final buzzer sounded, and their team hung their heads on the way down the tunnel, Nolan found himself looking for Travis on the ice. Like always, they found one another, giving each other sad looks as they slowly made their way off the ice. The last ones on it, skating together. It was excruciating. But in a way, it was kind of romantic. They were at the end of their playoff road, but they were there together. Bodies staying close, even with an entire rink at their feet. They went straight to the locker room, and from there straight to the plane. Everyone’s bodies were slumped everywhere, looking like they were all moving through sludge. When Nolan and Travis got on the plane and settled down, they could do little more but wait until the lights turned off. In the darkness, Nolan pressed several soft kisses to Travis’ face. His forehead, his cheeks, his lips. Travis was stunned at how  _ tender _ the kisses were. He knew he was gone for Nolan, and Nolan at least liked to keep him around physically, but this was - this was  _ more _ . Nolan rumbled something that Travis wouldn’t have caught, if the two of them hadn’t said it to one another before every game.

_ “You with me TK?” _

_ “Til the wheels fall off, Patty.” _

Still, Nolan’s quiet “I’m with you til the wheels fall off” in between slow kisses to Travis’ lips had him stunned. He pulled back to move the armrest up out of the way, and when he looked up into Nolan’s eyes, he was shocked when he felt the man’s thumbs rub under his own. Was he crying? Nolan pulled Travis tight to him, and Travis wondered how much of this Nolan was doing because he thought Travis needed it, or because he also needed it. He let himself be pulled into the embrace, leaning up to press a feather light kiss on Nolan’s neck. Sure there were times when the two of them kissed without doing much else, but they were young, and more often then not their kisses grew heated and their acts escalated. But this was purely soft, there was no heat behind it, no urgency. As far as Travis could tell, it was just simply happening because Nolan felt like it. Because he wanted to. So he kissed his neck again and settled in, letting himself be held.

They lost to the Rangers. The fucking Rangers. On home ice. They couldn’t even net one. Travis was livid. It was like the guys had just  _ given up _ . Travis didn’t even have the energy to be vocally angry. He just parked himself in his stall and glowered, pulling off his gear faster then usual. Nolan was quiet next to him. He seemed more sad then angry. Travis just wanted to scoop him up and kiss him until Nolan’s dorky smile came back to his face, but he was positive that Nolan would shove him across the locker room if he’d tried. Travis knew not  _ all _ his frustration was from the loss. Sure, he and Nolan’s new arrangement was still brand new, but their days were so long and they were together so much and it felt like it just built up so naturally that Travis felt like they’d been doing it forever. But they hadn’t. It had only been a few days, in reality, but Travis was still finding himself spending what little remaining energy he had wondering  _ what _ they were doing. Did he get to call Nolan his boyfriend? Did he get to take him on dates? Did he get to hold hands and kiss him in public? Well, probably not that last one, what with them being somewhat notable public figures, but the sentiment was still there. He knew they weren’t like, the most romantic people on the planet. But they had yet to  _ do _ anything romantic. Like, everything they did was physical, and had a level of intimacy, but none of it was that little domestic shit that Travis secretly loved. He never woke up to find Nolan in the kitchen, wearing nothing but an apron so Travis could look at his cute hockey butt while Nolan made them pancakes. And okay. Maybe Travis was being a little unrealistic since neither of them were like, even decent at cooking. But who  _ wouldn’t _ want that? Come on. Travis could walk up behind him and stand on his tiptoes and rest his chin over Nolan’s shoulder. He could squeeze his ass and when Nolan turned around he’d have a “kiss the cook” apron on because he’s corny, and Travis  _ would _ . He absolutely  _ would _ kiss the cook, thank you very much. And then, on a much more realistic note, their pancakes would burn and they’d end up forcing the entire building to evacuate after they’d set off the fire alarm. But they’d be  _ cute _ , of that, Travis was certain. Nolan hadn’t really had any serious relationships that Travis knew of. What if he just wasn’t a relationship person? Nolan had been very enthusiastic about the physical nature of their relationship, but other then rushed confessions of arousal, they hadn’t actually like...talked about it. There was the no PDA in the locker room discussion, but that was obvious. There was the horrendous car ride when Travis divulged that Hartzy had thought they were dating and Nolan hadn’t said a fucking word the rest of the ride, but that  _ definitely _ didn’t count, even if it told Travis everything he didn’t want to know. He was stubborn, and until Nolan told him, to his face, that he was not interested in anything other then fucking around, Travis would let himself continue to pine for his big dumb best friend’s romantic affections.

Nolan was upset they lost, but he didn’t let himself dwell on it too much. That game was over now. All he could do was look to the next one as he packed for the plane. Dallas. They’d be getting there a day before the game, and they’d have most of the day to themselves. Nolan already had a plan in mind. He knew Travis was taking the losses especially hard, and now that they actually had  _ time _ , Nolan was going to get Travis’ mind off of hockey. He would die before he admitted it to anybody but Travis’ stupid smile hadn’t been as present lately and it made Nolan  _ feel things _ . He knew Travis liked to explore wherever they were and hoped a day of fun fucking around Dallas would lift his unusually low spirits. Nolan shuffled onto the plane and pulled out his iPad, lifting the arm-rest and raising his arm so Travis could immediately nestle into his side. They had a long flight, and Nolan wanted to at least pretend they’d watch a movie before they’d both inevitably fall asleep. Travis put in the earbud he was offered and dropped his head onto Nolan’s shoulder. Once he was fully settled, Nolan draped his arm over Travis’ shoulders, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb along the skin there. Travis fell asleep first, Nolan stayed awake trying to think of things he could do with Travis to make him happy. What the hell was there to do in  _ Dallas _ ? Nolan figured out that they hadn’t like, even gone on a  _ date _ yet. A first date in Dallas? Doesn’t sound great, but they seem to have time for one, for the first time since they started being together. Where the hell could they even go on a date in Dallas? It’d have to be somewhere like, kinda private, so nobody would recognize them. Maybe paintballing? They wouldn’t get hurt from that, right? Was there even a paintball place in Dallas? Could they go fishing? They both liked fishing. But there probably wasn’t any fishing in Dallas. Wasn’t any hunting, either. They weren’t like, super duper romantic, but maybe that was just cause they hadn’t had the time? Should he just do dinner? A movie? Dinner  _ and _ a movie? Did fucking the shit out of Travis in a hotel room count as a date? Nolan would have to think about it. He’d find a hole in the wall place. Maybe they had good sushi in Dallas…

Luckily for the two of them, their teammates were used to them going off together once they got to the hotel, so they wouldn’t have to worry about anyone tagging along. Nolan had yet to  _ actually _ figure out what the fuck they were doing, so when Travis saw those stupid - “actually really cool looking”  _ fuck off Oskar _ \- scooters, it was a little too easy for him to just...set Travis loose with the other miscreants. Nolan did a quick google and found a few options that looked like they’d be good. They weren’t in Philly so the odds of being recognized were lower, but Nolan  _ still _ didn’t wanna go anywhere really crowded. He settled down in their hotel room, but couldn’t seem to relax. He was going to take a nap but sleep just wouldn’t come. Nolan was nervous. Would Travis even  _ want _ to go on a date? Did he like, hold the door and shit for him? Did he pay for Travis’ meal? He hadn’t ever like, gone on a date with a dude before, and he didn’t know if there were like, rules or shit. His only saving grace was that he  _ knew _ Travis hadn’t ever dated a guy either. In fact, Travis hadn’t ever really done... _ anything _ with a guy before. It made something low and possessive stir deep in his gut, that he got to have Travis in a way  _ nobody _ ever did. Nolan felt himself getting hard just thinking about it, about having Travis spread out on his sheets. He was so loud already, but getting him into bed Nolan just wanted to hear him. He reached down into his pants, gripping his dick through his boxers. He’d have to do something to take the edge off anyways, since he’d want to take his time with Travis later. As he worked himself up, he just thought about Travis. What he’d look like, splayed out before him, hole wet and open and ready for him. If anyone else were in the room, Nolan would be embarrassed about how fast he’d gone over the edge. He got up and took a shower, changing into clean boxers and sweats.

Travis came back in the early evening, collapsing right onto where Nolan had been  _ napping, thank you very much Trav _ , face down. Nolan was grumbling, and had let out an audible ‘oof’ upon Travis’ collapse, but still wrapped his arms around him all the same. Nolan bit his lip, thinking about how to ask Travis out. It was so stupid, he’d sucked the dudes dick,  _ multiple times _ , and here he was scared to ask him to dinner? Whatever. He took a breath. It was just dinner. He could do this.

“Hey, do you wanna get dinner later?” Travis picked his head up, perching his chin on Nolan’s chest and grinning up at him.

“ _ Obviously _ , Patty” Nolan groaned and shoved Travis’ face away.

“I meant like...a date” he mumbled out quietly. Travis batted his hand away from his face and gave him a questioning look.

“What’d you say?” Nolan flushed and looked past Travis’ shoulder at the wall.  _ Why is this so stupidly hard what the fuck _

“ _ D’yawannagoonadatewithme? _ ” Travis let out a light laugh, eyes twinkling

“Pat, I don’t know what you’re saying dude” Travis poked at him, chuckling and chirping him.

“Oh my god you’re so annoying just go on a fucking date with me” Nolan groaned out. Travis stilled. Nolan did too, as he realized he’d actually like, said it in a pitch where humans could hear him. He slowly glanced down at Travis, and saw him absolutely beaming at him.  _ God _ , his smile was brighter than the sun. Nolan almost felt disgusted at how stupidly sappy that thought was, and how fond he was of the dumb boy on top of him. Nolan felt himself grin, he couldn’t  _ not _ , not with the way Travis was smiling so hard it looked like he’d never stop.

“Y-you wanna go on a date? With me?” Travis asked, seeming a little more bashful than Nolan anticipated. Was Travis... _ nervous _ ? Nolan didn’t know where his tiny shred of confidence came from, but he looked right into Travis’ eyes

“Well, yeah...can’t I want to take my boyfriend out on a date?”

Travis would murder anybody who ratted him out for what happened next. If anyone asked, Travis absolutely  _ did not _ bury his face in Nolan’s neck, he  _ did not _ let out a squeal-like sound, and it  _ was not _ extremely high-pitched. He also absolutely  _ did not _ fist Nolan’s shirt and kick his feet against the mattress in a spastic fashion. Luckily, nobody was there except for Nolan, so there was extreme plausible deniability because everyone knew Nolan was stupid, and never knew what he was talking about.

Except for this.

_ Boyfriend _ .

Nolan had called Travis his  _ boyfriend _ .

Nolan had wanted to take Travis,  _ his boyfriend _ , on a  _ date _ .

Nolan wanted to  _ date _ Travis

Nolan and Travis were  _ dating _ .

Travis felt like he wouldn’t be able to stop smiling for the rest of his life. Nolan’s beautiful voice pulled him out of his internal glee

“So uh...is that a yes?” God, Travis was dating such a loser. Travis’ laugh was  _ delighted _ .

“It is Patty. It is.” Travis pushed himself up just as Nolan pulled him up, meeting their lips for a kiss. Maybe Travis was a sap, but it was the best kiss they’d ever had.

Dinner was easy. Travis chatted all about the shenanigans the - “Scooter Squad, Pat! Phil’s a genius!” - got into, literally rolling around Dallas. Nolan talked about the distress he’d felt trying to come up with a plan for date night.

“ _ No way, Pat _ ” Travis wheezed through laughter. “You really almost slid into _ Tyler Seguin’s _ instagram to ask him where to get dinner?” Nolan flushed and grumbled, kicking at Travis under the table.

“Fuck  _ off _ , I  _ didn’t _ ! And it wasn’t  _ like that _ , it was to get dinner with you! I just didn’t want us to get recognized…”

“Okay but like, you sliding into someone’s DM’s asking where to get dinner...that could be seen as you asking them on a date bud” Nolan rolled his eyes, Travis still cackling across the table, wheezing out the words through gasps at breath.

“Okay but I didn’t  _ want _ to take Seguin on a date, I wanted to take  _ you _ , dumbass” Travis grinned at him across the table, chewing extra obnoxiously.

“And that ya did bud” Travis said, chewing with his mouth open while he spoke. God Nolan fucking hated him. God he wanted to fuck him so bad. Travis looked  _ good _ . He always looked good, but tonight, when it was very clearly just for him, he looked borderline irresistible. Nolan felt the warmth slowly come to life in his gut again as he looked over Travis. Travis, seeing his gaze, had to take a second and clear his throat. His voice still came out a little higher than normal when he asked Nolan

“Did-did you want dessert?” Nolan’s eyes didn’t leave the man sitting across from him, instead he shamelessly dragged his eyes all over him, licking his lips. He saw Travis track the movement and then almost audibly gulp as his eyes darkened. “Y-yeah, got it.”

Nolan paid for dinner and ushered the two of them out of the restaurant and back to the hotel.


	21. Fuck. Dallas.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where the boys have a lot of sex (and maybe play a little bit of hockey in between)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut. And a little bit of hockey. But mostly smut.

The second they were in their room, the clothes were coming off. Nolan had pressed Travis hard into the door with a searing kiss, completely plastering himself over his smaller boyfriend and pinning him tightly to the door behind them. Travis groaned into his mouth and clutched at his hips, grinding against Nolan shamelessly. Nolan backed up, pulling Travis with him and then pushing him down onto the bed, once again covering him with his body. Nolan ground his hips down, swallowing the gasps and moans that Travis let out against his lips. He kissed his way down the other man’s jaw, onto his throat leaving light nips and kisses there.

“Been thinking about this…” Nolan rumbled out. Travis thought Nolan’s voice was low and sexy like, regularly, but especially when he was turned on it was a whole new level. 

“Fuck, Pat…” Travis gasped out as Nolan took a nipple into his mouth, Travis’ back arching into the contact. When Nolan looked up at him, his smirk was  _ filthy _

“That’s the idea” Travis gasped and felt himself tense up. Nolan was massive there was no way he was gonna fit… He suddenly felt extremely nervous as Nolan continued his trail downwards.

“P-patty, wait.” Nolan pulled away immediately, sitting back on his heels.

“Hey, hey Teeks, it’s okay, we don’t have to- if you don’t…” Travis surged up at that, surprising both of them with the frantic

“No!” that came from his lips. “No! No, god, Pat I  _ do _ , I just. I’ve never...not with- and, you’re just, you’re a fucking giant, okay? So your dick is huge, I mean jesus Patty, and I love it! I do! It’s a great dick! But I don’t think it’s gonna fit…” Nolan nodded, rubbing slowly at Travis’ sides, leaning down to give a few tender kisses across his stomach.

“Okay...so you wanna fuck me, then?”

Nolan wanted to kill him. There was no other option. Travis felt his brain absolutely shut down just from the thought, as his dick jumped at the idea.

“ _ God _ Pat you can’t just  _ say _ that” Travis gasped out, reaching down to run his hands down Nolan’s back. He felt Nolan shudder under his hands. Nolan then pulled back away from Travis, and before Travis could whine about it he was over at his bag, pulling out the lube and a condom. Nolan straddled Travis’ hips and snapped open the container of lube, coating his fingers before slowly reaching back and circling his hole.

Nolan definitely wanted to kill him.

Travis shakily reached up and trailed his hands over Nolan’s chest, bringing them to rest at his hips as he watched Nolan open himself up.

Nolan was fingering himself for  _ him _ . God, Travis was going to die before he even got his dick inside Nolan, and that was just going to be a tragedy.

“You gotta - _ ah _ \- open up” Travis eyed Nolan’s blush as it reached down his chest, watching him start to rock back onto his own fingers.  _ Jesus. _ Nolan looked down at Travis, pupils blown wide, eyes lidded and mouth slightly agape. He brought one hand up to grip Travis’ wrist and pull it behind him, rubbing -  _ holy  _ **_shit_ ** \- Travis’ fingers against his hole.

Nolan panted his name and Travis was positive he’d already died and ascended to heaven.

“Trav  _ please _ ” Travis nodded dumbly and scrabbled on the bed for the lube, pouring absolutely way too much on his fingers before bringing them shakily back up to his hole, circling it before experimentally pressing the tip of his finger in. He gasped out a curse at how easily it sank into Nolan. Nolan told him to add another and he did without a second thought, feeling the tight heat around his fingers. Nolan started rocking down onto Travis’ fingers, grinding his hips down trying to get him deeper. Travis groaned and scissored his fingers, pushing them in farther. He hit  _ something _ in Nolan, because it caused him to gasp loudly and double down on his efforts to grind onto Travis’ fingers.

“ _ Fuck!  _ T-there, again, Trav  _ please _ ” Travis nodded. God himself couldn’t get Travis to stop now. Nolan bore down on him

“Another one Teeks, I-I’m ready for another one” Travis was a little skeptical, how could he fit another one? Was he sure? But Nolan said to, so Travis slid a third finger in, hearing Nolan let out a delicious groan. Travis continued to fuck his fingers into Nolan, hitting that spot that made him writhe over and over, until Nolan reached down and grabbed his wrist, gripping it tight and stopping his movements.

“S-stop. You gotta-I won’t-I want”

Oh.

_ Oh _ . Travis pulled his fingers out and again clawed at the sheets for the condom, tearing it open and sliding it on. Nolan’s hand gave him a few strokes, lubing him up quickly. Travis wasn’t like, at all knowledgeable about the whole gay sex thing, but he felt like  _ Nolan _ should probably be the one laying down on the mattress instead.

“Patty, shouldn’t we like-” the rest of his thought was cut off with an obscene moan that he later realized came from his own mouth, as Nolan lined himself up and slowly sank down onto Travis’ dick.

_ Fuck. _

It felt so good. Travis’ hands gripped Nolan’s hips hard, he was sure there would be bruises later but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Not with his dick inching into the tight hot pressure that was Nolan, panting above him. Once Nolan was fully seated in his lap, he took a moment to adjust.  Travis was having a hard time not just bucking up into Nolan like the horny 22 year old he was, knowing that Nolan would tell him when he was ready.

And holy fuck did he.

Nolan slowly raised himself back up until just the tip was left inside him, before slamming back down and rolling his hips. Nolan wasted no time establishing a rhythm, and Travis shifted, planting his feet under his knees so he could thrust up as Nolan came down. Nolan was all but thrashing as he met Travis thrust for thrust, both boys would probably be embarrassed by the sounds coming out of their mouths if they were aware enough of them to care. Travis was hypnotized watching Nolan stretch around him, moving up and down, rocking their hips together. Travis would’ve been embarrassed at how quickly he felt himself falling over the edge if he wasn’t watching Nolan jerk himself off and make it two strokes before he painted Travis’ chest. Nolan collapsed, angling just to the side so he wouldn’t crush Travis with his weight. What he says is muffled, but Travis hears it all the same

“Wanna feel you next time”

Travis almost choked, shoving Nolan off the bed towards the bathroom, his voice coming out in a higher pitch than he’d admit

“Shit Patty you can’t just  _ say _ that”

Nolan groaned about being kicked out of bed, but rolled his eyes when Travis hit him with the logic that since Nolan had made the mess, he should clean it up.

“Couldn’t just let me fucking chill for a minute, jesus” Nolan grumbled as he made his way to the hotel bathroom, grabbing a washcloth and running it under the sink.

Travis’ basking got interrupted when a cold, wet washcloth hit him in the stomach. He practically jumped up as he leveled Nolan with a devastating glare. Nolan was unfazed, chuckling from the corner of the room. It shouldn’t have been as cute as it was, but well, never let it be said Travis wasn’t delighted by everything about what they were doing. Travis scrubbed himself clean and threw the washcloth back at his  _ boyfriend _ , because he could say that now, before settling back into bed. He watched as Nolan came back over, feeling himself warm as he took in the very obvious handprint-shaped bruises along the boy’s hips. Nolan crashed down onto the bed next to him and sprawled out, immediately taking up all of Travis’ space. Travis groaned and rolled into him to give him a teasing hit in the abs. Nolan’s arm locked around his shoulder, keeping him in place. Travis huffed and pretended to struggle for a minute before relaxing into the hold and slinging his leg over Nolan’s thighs.

“Shouldn’t we shower?” Travis asked belatedly. Nolan rolled his eyes.

“No dude, we’re not  _ dirty _ , we just had sex.” Travis nodded. That made sense. He leaned into Nolan a little more, resting his head on his shoulder. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. He hadn’t ever done like, butt stuff before, and while  _ he _ knew it felt good and knew Nolan had done it before, he wanted to make sure Nolan liked it.

“That was, like, that felt good for you too, right?” Travis asked, craning his neck up to look at Nolan’s profile. He felt Nolan huff out a short laugh, and watched his eyes crinkle as he smiled.

“Yes Trav, that felt very good.” Travis nodded. He  _ wanted _ to ask, about G, but at the same time he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. What if Nolan told him G was better at sex? It wouldn’t surprise Travis, the man was their captain because he was good at everything, but this was  _ Nolan _ , and Travis wanted to be the best for Nolan. He was shocked out of his thoughts when he felt Nolan’s lips against his own. Nolan mumbled a “stop thinking so loud” as he ran his thumb against Travis’ jaw. The angle was extremely awkward, but the kiss grounded Travis. He nodded and let himself settle back down, feeling Nolan’s hand trace patterns on his arm. Travis was almost asleep when a thought came to him that he just had to voice out loud

“Y’know you really shouldn’t put out on the first date, people might get the wrong idea”

Nolan’s laugh was beautiful.

* * *

Travis was a slut for domestic shit, even though he’d never admit it. Nolan looking all sleepy and soft as he drank coffee in the bed next to him was almost going to give Travis a heart attack. The only way it could be better was, again, if Nolan made them breakfast and didn’t wear shorts so Travis could look at his butt and see him in his “kiss the cook” apron that Travis was pretty sure Nolan didn’t  _ actually _ own but he wanted him to. But they were on the road. So soft smiles over room service breakfast that Nolan had ordered in was all he was going to get, and even that was way more then Travis had ever dared to even dream about. Travis was glad the two of them  _ always _ kept to themselves once they got to the hotel, because it meant that now they wouldn’t raise any suspicion when they were spending all their hotel time together. They finished their breakfast, and let themselves soak in the lazy morning. It was game day, so even though they both woke up and their dicks were ready to go, they mutually agreed to wait until  _ after _ the game, which meant they both laid there talking about Dave Hakstol and Garry Bettman until they calmed down. They spent the rest of the day doing dumb shit, before Travis convinced Nolaln to ride those stupid fucking scooters to the rink. Because Nolan was apparently physically incapable of saying no to his boyfriend, he found himself on an electric scooter going through the streets of Dallas.

They lost. They lost to the Stars.  _ But _ . Travis was choosing to focus less on the outcome and more on some of the more specific components of the game. Mainly their line. What the boys had dubbed the “daycare” line, of himself, Patty, and Oskar, had put a point on the board. Travis was on the ice and passed it up to Nolan, because relationships aside the kid was crazy with the puck handling. And it paid off, as Nolan did some  _ very sexy maneuvering _ to get the puck into the crease, where Oskar dumped it in. It was totally hot. Not the Oskar part, but you know. Travis also thought about how in the “daycare” line’s first rush out, it ended up with him and Nolan - “of  _ course,  _ why does it  _ always _ have to be you two?” an exasperated but fond Oskar asked on the bench after - pinned to the boards under various stars players while Oskar skated around on the perimeter, electing to ignore the entire kerfuffle, which,  _ thanks Oskar _ .

Travis couldn’t get Nolan’s moves out of his head.  _ God _ they were so hot. He watched them on the replay and then he just kept thinking about them until they got back to the hotel. He thought about Nolan surrounding him, moving however he wanted,  _ taking _ what he wanted, just like he had on the ice, and Travis almost shuddered. He never thought he’d be into that, but here he was, chubbing up in his shorts to the thought of Nolan railing him into next week. God, and yesterday he wasn’t even sure he wanted to get fucked, christ there had to be something wrong with him. He was so lost in the visual that he actually jumped when Nolan dropped down onto his lap in their room. It got a laugh out of the younger one, before he wrapped his arms around Travis’ neck.

“You’re being weird, what is it?”

“I’ve never been weird in my life” Travis shot back immediately, before pulling Nolan into a messy kiss. He let Nolan push him down onto the bed and blanket him, moving his lips to Travis’ jaw, up to his ear.

“You gonna tell me?” Nolan asked as he kissed down his boyfriend’s neck. Travis exhaled shakily and made himself grit the words out.

“Want you to fuck me”

He felt Nolan still above him and looked at him. Nolan was staring at him.

“Trav, are you sure? I know last night you didn’t-”

“Patty watching you just fucking take what you wanted on the ice today went straight to my dick, okay? I want you to pin me down and fuck me, but maybe like, be slow about it because I’ve never had a dick in my ass before.” Nolan let out a laugh, and at first Travis thought it was  _ at _ him, but it was clear it was just Nolan letting out a sound of joy. He nodded and sat up.

“We’ll go slow, Trav. I’ll open you up first and if you ever don’t wanna do it, that’s totally fine. Okay?” Travis nodded, letting out a deep breath. Nolan smiled at him again and leaned up to recapture his lips, allowing them to lazily make out for a while. Travis let Nolan start to undress him as he got lost in the two of them taking their time. Travis barely heard the snap of a cap before he felt the tip of Nolan’s finger at his hole and he tensed up, pulling back. Nolan looked him in the eyes.

“Okay Trav?” Travis nodded and tried to relax. He felt Nolan’s other hand running up and down his side, choosing to focus on that. He reached out for Nolan, pulling him up so their lips could connect once more. He ran his hands through Nolan’s hair as he felt a finger run in slow circles around his hole. Nolan kept it up until he felt Travis relax, before slowly pressing in. Nolan’s free hand came up to rub over Travis’ nipple, swallowing the gasp that Travis let out. Nolan’s finger in his ass didn’t feel bad, it just felt different. It was very new. A little weird. Nolan started to slowly move his finger, and when Travis gasped again Nolan fucked his mouth with his tongue, keeping pace with his finger and resulting in Travis making these punched out little noises, really Nolan would be okay with just fingering Travis all night, but the though of getting his dick in him, and having him make these sounds was overpowering. Still, he kept it slow, not adding another finger until Travis pulled away to tell him he could. The second finger was a tighter fit, Nolan pressing in and waiting until Travis nodded. It was starting to feel like something Travis might want. Nolan pushed in farther, and it was slow, which Travis was grateful for, but again he wanted Nolan to have his way with him, cover him and take him. Before he could complain, Nolan hit something that made Travis kick out and arch his back.

“ _ Holy shit _ what was that? Do that again” Travis panted - when did he start panting? Nolan smirked and nodded, moving his fingers over that spot over and over again. Travis was going to lose his fucking mind. Travis couldn’t stop squirming, gasping into Nolan’s mouth as he just let Nolan keep pressing that spot inside him.

“You’re so responsive, god it’s sexy”

Travis felt his orgasm rapidly approaching and he clawed at Nolan’s back and arms

“ _ Pat _ Patty Pat Pat I’m gonna cum”

Nolan’s fingers pulled away from that spot immediately.

Travis wanted to scream.

He opened his eyes and glared before he saw the heat in Nolan’s gaze

“Want you on my cock for that” Nolan rumbled. Travis shivered and let out an “oh  _ fuck _ yes” before Nolan pushed a third finger in. Travis was impressed and a little maddened at how skillfully Nolan seemed to be avoiding that spot inside him. The stretch was good, not quite too much, Travis felt like he could take more. Nolan pulled his fingers out and Travis  _ whined _ . He hid his face in his pillow, before he felt Nolan move it out of the way.

“I wanna hear you” Nolan commanded. Travis nodded, settling himself before he saw Nolan start to get up. He grabbed his wrist and held him there.

“Where are you going?” Nolan looked at him like he’d said the grass was purple.

“To get a condom, duh” Travis shook his head.

“We’re both clean, Patty. I want to feel you.  _ All _ of you.” Travis didn’t have time to be embarrassed about how honest that was, because Nolan’s eyes darkened considerably as he stalked closer and gave Travis a very obvious once-over. Nolan crawled over him, grabbing the lube and slicking himself up before he nudged Travis’ knees farther apart. Travis felt Nolan start to press in and his head fell back against the pillows.  _ God _ he was huge. It took them several moments for Nolan to slowly inch his way inside, and as soon as Travis started to feel like he couldn’t be stuffed any fuller, Nolan’s hips were pressed flush to Travis’ ass. Holy shit. Travis reached up to grab Nolan’s forearm, exhaling shakily and requesting a minute. Nolan nodded. He wasn’t able to say much, just staring down and taking in the boy underneath him. As soon as Travis said Nolan could move, he did. The slow drag in and out had Travis gasping, god it was just so  _ much _ . He felt like Nolan could take him apart if he wanted. And  _ god _ Travis wanted that.

“ _ Fuck _ ” he heard above him, and Travis had no idea that he’d said any of that out loud. Nolan grabbed Travis’ thighs and before Travis could figure out what he was doing, he’d put them over his shoulders and started thrusting in hard, and  _ oh shit _ . The new angle felt like he was getting deeper, and with Travis’ only point of contact with the mattress being his shoulders he was completely at Nolan’s mercy. 

“Wish you could fucking see yourself. God, opening up just for me. You look fucking wrecked and we haven’t even  _ started _ ” Nolan’s voice was deep, posessive, and it hit Travis in all the right places. All he could do was moan out his assent and agreement while Nolan had his way with him.

“Whole world’s gonna see you’re mine. Nobody will be able to look at you without seeing what I did to you. Gonna take everything you give me, til you’ve got nothing left. God you’re so fucking easy for it. You’re gonna wanna be on my dick all the time after this, aren’t you?”

Travis choked out a desperate moan, a  “ _ please, pat _ ” falling from his lips as Nolan absolutely pounded into him. Travis was pretty sure he was going to start screaming soon. Nolan was talking more as he wrecked Travis then he had in the entire time Travis had known him. Nolan had forced him down and continued slamming into him, angling so he hit that spot again inside Travis every thrust. Travis was writhing underneath him, an incoherent mess. He knew he was going to lose it soon.

“You’ll never fucking forget this. Wherever you are, whoever you’re with, you’ll always remember that  _ I _ took you first.”

That did it. Travis arched back and came all over their chests. It felt like it wasn’t ever going to stop. He heard Nolan shudder out a gasp as he clenched around him, and then he felt it. He felt Nolan spill out inside him. All Travis could muster out was a quiet, needy

“Yesss” as he moaned at the sensation of Nolan instinctively grinding his load in as deep as he could. After a moment Nolan carefully pulled out, shushing Travis as he whined. He reached over for the tissues on the bedside table and cleaned Travis’ stomach up gently.

Travis wasn’t sure he could move even if he wanted to, completely lax against the mattress. Nolan gently pushed Travis’ knees apart and paused before he cleaned up between his cheeks, letting out a strangled curse that forced Travis’ eyes to find him. Travis knew immediately what Nolan was seeing and it made his breath catch in his throat. Nolan was watching his own seed dripping out onto the mattress. He slowly brought his thumb up to catch it and press it back inside, causing Travis to whine. Nolan looked up, looking just like a kid with their hand caught in a cookie jar.

“Sorry, was that-”

Travis shook his head

“N-no, do it...I like it” Nolan flushed a deeper red and nodded, gently pressing his cum back into Travis’ hole. Travis shuddered, and  _ wow _ , that was something for them to explore later, because Nolan was right. Travis was going to be  _ incredibly easy _ about getting that dick inside him. Nolan finished cleaning Travis up and crawled up the mattress to cradle him in his arms.

“Was that okay?” Travis barked out a laugh.

“God, Patty, best I’ve ever had”

“I’m the only you’ve ever had”

“Yeah, so you’re the best!” Nolan huffed, but was smiling, as he kissed Travis’ cheek and shuffled them under the covers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Travis is a slut for hearing Nolan talk dirty pass it on
> 
> Last chapter might be the end! We're almost to the end of the season when this fic is slated to end, sorry I haven't been updating as much I'm like, nervous to write about Travis being a Flyer until he re-signs with them. I want that boy on LOCK! He can't leave Nolan!


	22. The Calm After The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The season ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i've been gone so long! Summer was time to reelax and I needed to get myself settled into my next semester before I could come back to this. This is the very end!

They use their off day to do little more then laze in bed. The season is just shy of being over, both tragically too soon but also somehow not coming soon enough. They know that eventually they have to get up and get on the plane to St. Louis with the boys, but they didn’t really unpack so all they have to do is snag their toiletries and close up their suitcases. Their plane routine is now down to a science. They snag a row and immediately put up the arm rest. Travis brought a blanket once, but after Nolan bitched about how it didn’t cover him, Travis never packed it again.  
They lost to the blues.  
They lost to the hurricanes, too. Travis had already known they were out, but losing all of the games after being eliminated stung. It really felt like as soon as they lost out on going to the playoffs everyone just decided to call it quits. Locker cleanout was a subdued affair. Everyone stuck to their own areas for the most part, each stewing in his own personal turmoil. Even Nolan seemed subdued, Travis wanted to try and cheer him up, but knew there was a time and place. Nolan had to give an exit interview, and then he and Travis were back in their apartments, tag teaming to pack up both units. Travis saw that Nolan still seemed subdued, so he went with the only thing he could think of, which was to just chatter on incessantly about everything that crossed his mind.  
Now that the season was over, his agent had been bugging him non-stop about contract talk. He had been ignoring his phone so far today, mostly ignoring the subject in general with the hopes that it would resolve itself. He didn’t want to talk about it with Pat, because...if for whatever reason he got signed somewhere else...Travis shook his head to clear his thoughts. He couldn’t think about that. He didn’t want his last few days with Noan to be overshadowed with his own fears about his contract. They knew the team itself was up in the air. With a new GM and presumably a new head coach in the near future, nobody was safe. Well, not nobody. Travis knew they’d have to be insane to trade Patty, so he took comfort that he’d still be there. He hadn’t realised he wasn’t saying anything for a while until he got shocked out of his stupor by Nolan’s hand clapping onto his shoulder, looking at him with his stupid sexy concerned face.  
“You’ve been quiet for like, a whole minute dude, what’s wrong with you?” Nolan was trying to chirp him, but both boys could tell it didn’t land quite right. Travis shot him a smile that he was sure didn’t reach his eyes.  
“I’m sad, Pat” he shrugged and dramatically fell against his boyfriend’s stupidly large torso, throwing in a put upon sigh for good measure. He felt Nolan grumble, and rather then shoving Travis off, just crushed him to his chest.  
“Hey Pat?”  
Nolan didn’t so much answer him as grunt in acknowledgement, but Travis took that anyway.  
“I like you a whole lot”  
He felt and heard Nolan let out a short chuckle, though it might have been a scoff, he wasn’t sure.  
“I like you too bud.”  
Travis hummed in response and let himself stay there, until he heard Nolan’s deep  
“Guess what?”  
Travis was intrigued, and pulled his head up enough to look up at Nolan’s face. Christ, why did he have to be so fucking tall? Seeing he had Travis’ attention put a smirk on Nolan’s face.  
“I’d like you a whole lot more if you finished packing up your shit”  
Travis gasped and pushed Nolan away, grumbling about being under appreciated while he continued to box things up, hearing Nolan cackle behind him. He’d take this Nolan over subdued Nolan any day. They finished packing up their apartments, taking too long because they could not stop fucking around. Once everything was packed up, they sat on the floor drinking a couple of beers, just knocking shoulders and roasting one another for literally anything they could come up with. Travis let himself soak it all in, after all, they were going to part ways for the offseason, and that was with him thinking he would get resigned by the flyers, so still several months at minimum. He let out a sigh, and mumbled out a quiet  
“I’m gonna miss this”  
He felt Nolan shift over until he ended up knocking Travis fully on the ground, his whole body laying on top of him. Thank god they’d finished their beers, Travis was not about to clean the apartment again. He heard Nolan’s responding sigh.  
“What do we do now? It’s the offseason, I’m not gonna see you every day…” He heard Nolan finish the sentence, even though he didn’t think he was meant to hear it.  
“I don’t wanna break up”  
That jolted Travis up into a full sit, knocking Nolan off onto the ground next to him.  
“Whoa whoa whoa, Pat, who the fuck said anything about breaking up?”  
Nolan had the decency to look chastised, at least.  
“Here’s what’s gonna happen. We’re gonna leave here, we’re both gonna go home, we’re gonna talk every fucking day, if we’re lucky even visit a few times, and above all? We’re gonna do whatever the fuck we want because we’re young and sexy.” That got Nolan to laugh  
“Whatever we want?”  
Travis nodded and kissed him on the mouth.  
“Whatever we want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all for sticking with this story! Thanks to Chuck Fletcher for getting our favorite boy signed. I have more things in the works for these two but nothing concrete yet, so it'll probably be a while! And probably nothing as long as this was.


End file.
